Is Calvin Pickard emerging as the Oilers no.1 goalie?

The Edmonton Oilers lost 6-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One thing is clear at the moment. It was once again a shaky performance for Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner of Edmonton, Alberta. Skinner gave up five goals on 31 shots for a poor save percentage of .839 and has seen his save percentage drop below .900 for the season at .898.

Yes, it was a terrible game defensively for the Oilers. Defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard were a -3 and -2 respectively. Heck, even Connor McDavid was a -3 after scoring the overtime winner for Canada in the Four Nations Faceoff in Boston on Thursday night. Skinner did make a solid save on a two on zero when the Oilers defense were caught napping.

Yes, it was only one game, but this has been a trend for Skinner this season. In addition to losing to the Flyers, a team that was 17 points back of the Oilers heading into Saturday, Skinner has lost to and been shaky against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins this season when the Oilers were favoured. Furthermore, the Oilers fanbase are getting impatient on X.

In addition to losing to the Flyers, Skinner was pulled for Calvin Pickard in his last start on February 7. In a 5-4 Oilers loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Skinner gave up three goals on 12 shots.

It is interesting what Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has decided to do this weekend. He started Skinner against one of the weakest teams in the East, and is starting Pickard of Moncton, New Brunswick today against the Washington Capitals, the best team in the East with 82 points.

This season, Pickard has a record of 14 wins and five losses with a goals against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of .901. However, three of his losses came to the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens, teams the Oilers should have beaten. The decision to start Pickard against the Capitals could be a start of things to come. We may see more Pickard and less Skinner for the time being as Skinner tries to find his game.