Oilers' Knoblauch declines to name goalie for pivotal Game 6 - ESPN

FORT LAUERDALE, Fla. — Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch declined to name either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard as his starting goaltender for Tuesday night's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final with his team facing elimination against the Florida Panthers.

«Ultimately, it's who we feel is in the best position to win us a game. It about who's looking really good at that moment, and then we make our decision,» Knoblauch said Monday after practice.

Pickard, a 33-year-old who has played for six NHL teams in 10 seasons, replaced Skinner as the Oilers' starter in Game 5, giving up four goals on 18 shots in a 5-2 loss in Edmonton. Knoblauch defended Pickard's effort in that game against high-danger chances from the Panthers.

«There's no fault at Calvin at all on any of those goals,» he said.

Skinner lost the starting job after getting benched in Games 3 and 4 in Florida. He was pulled in the third period of the Oilers' Game 3 blowout loss after giving up five goals on 23 shots. He was yanked after the first period of Game 4 after allowing three goals on 17 shots.

Pickard ended up stopping 22 of 23 shots as the Oilers won in overtime to even the series at 2-2, and he was given the start in Game 5.

Pickard won his first seven decisions in the playoffs for Edmonton, becoming just the fourth goalie in history to win at least seven straight postseason decisions after not starting his team's opening playoff game. Pickard took over the starter's job for an ineffective Skinner in Game 3 of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings. Skinner took the crease back in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights after Pickard was injured.

Overall this postseason, Pickard is 7-1 with a .886 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against