Potential Oilers injury could spark goalie controversy
The topic of goaltending has been a popular one over the past few years around the Edmonton Oilers, and it looks like it will continue to be after a potential preseason injury.
Calvin Pickard, who is expected to be the team’s backup this season, started Saturday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken but only saw nine minutes of play. This is due to teammate Noah Philp accidentally running him over while pursuing Yanni Gourde.
Pickard looked shaken up on the play but eventually got up on his own volition before leaving the game. 24-year-old AHL farmhand Olivier Rodrigue came on in relief to play out the remainder of the game.
Yikes! Former Seattle Thunderbird Noah Philp flattens former Thunderbird Calvin Pickard.
Pickard exits the game. Could be for protocol purposes, but we will seeā¦ pic.twitter.com/kHNd7sQj6X
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) September 29, 2024
After the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was asked about Pickard’s status, to which he said that the veteran goaltender was getting evaluated and the hope is more information will be available tomorrow.
#Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch did not have an update on Pickard. Says he will be evaluated and will hopefully know more tomorrow
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) September 29, 2024
Pickard played a big part in Edmonton’s success last season as he posted a 12-7-1 record after being called up to the NHL in November to replace a struggling Jack Campbell. In the playoffs, the 32-year-old netminder started two games against the Vancouver Canucks, splitting them and giving starter Stuart Skinner some time to rediscover his game.
In the offseason, the Oilers rewarded Pickard with a two-year deal and arrived at training camp with an NHL spot all but guaranteed. It doesn’t appear that his injury was all that serious and his exit could have been out of an abundance of caution, but if he does wind up being out for an extended period, Oilers fans got a glimpse of his potential replacement in Olivier Rodrigue.
“We have the confidence in him,” Knoblauch said of Rodrigue after the game. “I thought he played well, especially in the third period, he came up with some big saves.”
The 24-year-old made 19 saves on 22 shots in Pickard’s absence and came up with a few key saves late in the game. Rodrigue has yet to play in an NHL game since being drafted by Edmonton in the second round of the 2018 draft but has been a stellar AHL goaltender for a few seasons now.
A goalie controversy seems to rear its head every single season for the Oilers, the hope is that this one ends as quickly as it started with good news on Pickard’s condition.
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