Oilers' need for a goaltender no longer a top priority
The Edmonton Oilers goaltending woes appear to be fixing themselves from within.
After a horrendous start to the season, Stuart Skinner has turned things around to the point that he has become one of the NHL’s best as of late. Since November 24, the 25-year-old has strung together a 17-2-0 record while posting a 1.84 goals against average (GAA) along with a .932 save percentage (SV%). He hasn’t been the only positive between the pipes for the Oilers, either.
A big reason why media and fans felt a goaltender needed to be added was because few had confidence Calvin Pickard could be a reliable backup. That said, while he hasn’t played a ton, he has given his team what they need when called upon, as he owns a 4-2-0 record to go with a 2.69 GAA and a .903 SV% in seven appearances. That GAA falls well below the NHL average of 2.94 this season, while his SV% is just a tick below the league-wide average of .904.
Also being forgotten about is Jack Campbell, who, after an ugly start with the Bakersfield Condors, has really picked things up as of late. While general manager Ken Holland did say he will be monitoring what the team plans to do with their goaltenders heading into the trade deadline, it is clear that adding to the position is far less urgent than it was a few months ago.
“Cal Pickard’s playing great, Stu Skinner’s playing great,” Holland said when asked about his goaltending situation.
“And actually, Jack Campbell’s playing great now. He got off to a real tough start in Bakersfield. I think in his last 11 games, he’s over a .920 SV%. I know he gave up two goals on 35 shots there on Saturday night. He’s had lots of those over the last little while. Those are good problems, those aren’t bad problems. We’ll kind of assess what we’ll do here over the next three days, and then start to work the phones. It kind of depends on what’s going on out there.”
As Holland’s comments show, things are going much better now in Oil country than they were early in the season. With wins in 21 of their past 24 outings, including a current 13-game winning streak, the Oilers are back into a top-three spot in the Pacific Division and are showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
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