We won't go as far as proclaiming that the Edmonton Oilers are on a roll, but four wins in their last six games still represents decent form. As a result, they've been able to overcome losing their opening three games of the 2024-25 season and now find themselves right back in the playoff picture.
Yes, a record of 8-7-1 and sitting one point out of a playoff spot might not look great, entering Thursday night's slate of games. However, everyone around the NHL is well aware that the Oilers are extremely capable of ripping off a significant winning streak or two, as they showed just last season.
One area the Oilers definitely need to shore up, is their goaltending. Following Wednesday night's action, they have the 11th-worst Goals Against Average (GAA) in the NHL, while their team save percentage of .883 is tied fourth-worst.
Skinner and his inconsistent form
By now, it's pretty clear that as talented as Stuart Skinner is -- and he does have the talent to be one of the best goalies in the NHL -- he's also ridiculously inconsistent. To be clear, we' re not putting this all on him when you consider how disorganised the defensive displays have been in front of him, but he still needs to be less erratic and win (steal) some games for his team.
As Skinner works through his struggles -- and his justified anger -- there have been ongoing calls for Calvin Pickard to get more starts between the pipes. Certainly we can appreciate this, when you consider how well Pickard played when called upon last season.
However, the reality is that Pickard himself hasn't always been a solid goalie so far in 2024-25. Yes his GAA of 2.60 is better than Skinner's 3.22, but his save percentage of .886 is only fractionally higher than the .881 by the Oilers' number one.
Makes sense to start Pickard against Predators
Having said all this, Pickard will indeed get the start on Thusday night, for the home tilt with the Nashville Predators. And really, it makes a lot of sense for Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch to give him the nod.
That's because Pickard was the Oilers' goalie for the two previous times they faced off with the Predators this season. Further, Edmonton beat Nashville both times, by scorelines of 4-2 and 5-1 respectively.
For Pickard specifically, his two outings against the Predators have been his best to date in 2024-25, in five overall starts. Combined, he had a 1.50 GAA and .944 save percentage.
Now it should be noted that the Oilers do well against the Predators in general, regardless of who's between the pipes. Consider that Edmonton has claimed at least one point in 15 of their previous matchups with Nashville, going 13-1-2 in the process.
Looking ahead to Toronto on Saturday night
Still, it is better to pick Pickard specifically, for Thursday night's game, which will be the third and final matchup of the regular season between the Oilers and Predators. The question is, what will happen after this?
We're referring specifically to Saturday night's big matchup in Toronto, with the Maple Leafs. Who will get the start for the Oilers, against a potent offensive lineup. albeit one which may well still be without the currently injured Auston Matthews.
Now we appreciate that there will be several factors to consider, but really, who Knoblauch ultimately picks to start in net against the Leafs will be telling. In theory it should be Skinner as the de facto number one and better talent, but with his struggles, there might be some nerves about having him face William Nylander and company on Saturday night.
Certainly Knoblauch hasn't been afraid to gamble before and start Pickard against strong teams. The prime example being during the playoffs last season, in the second round against the Canucks.
In that respect, by comparison this is nowhere near of a high-stakes situation for the Oilers, so early in the season. Still, it will be interesting to see which direction Knoblauch takes on Saturday night, as the Oilers look to get better play from the goalie position in general.