Oilers demote Skinner to back up duty after struggles in recent start

The Edmonton Oilers will be looking to get back into the win column tonight but will be doing so without Stuart Skinner between the pipes.

The Oilers played well enough as a team to earn what would have been their ninth-straight win on Thursday night but wound up falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a 7-4 final. This loss fell on the shoulders of Stuart Skinner, who gave up five goals on just 22 shots. To his credit, he took full responsibility for the loss postgame.

Despite Skinner owning up to his poor play, it appears the Oilers will be making a change in the crease for tonight’s game versus the Florida Panthers, as Calvin Pickard is expected to get the start.

This will mark Pickard’s second start in four games, as he was between the pipes for the Oilers’ 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils last Sunday. He has made three appearances overall since replacing Jack Campbell, posting a respectable 2.24 goals against average (GAA) and a .917 save percentage (SV%).

While Pickard has been solid in limited action this season, tonight’s outing will be his biggest test. The Panthers are one of the league’s more dangerous teams, with plenty of skilled forwards who are more than capable of beating any goalie in the NHL. Through 29 games this season, they own an impressive 17-10-2 record.

There haven’t been any official lines set yet, but given their performance versus the Lightning, it is likely that head coach Kris Knoblauch will keep them the same. If that is the case, we will see Connor McDavid centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman on the top line, with Draisaitl centring Mattias Janmark and Warren Foegle on the second.

As for d-pairings, Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci are expected to remain in their usual top-pairing spot, while Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard will round out the top four. That leaves the usual third-pairing of Brett Kulak and Vincent Desharnais intact.

Tonight’s outing is a big one for the Oilers, as they move to within one point of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Puck drop in this one is set for 8:00 pm MT.

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