Oilers to start Pickard in net for Game 5 vs. Panthers - ESPN

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Edmonton Oilers have named goalie Calvin Pickard as their starter for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, replacing Stuart Skinner.

Pickard, 33, replaced Skinner after he was pulled in the third period of their Game 3 blowout loss at the Florida Panthers and again when Skinner was pulled after the first period of Game 4, having given up three goals on 17 shots. Pickard made 18 straight saves before Florida's Sam Reinhart sent the game to overtime with a goal at 19:40 in the third period. He ended up stopping 22 of 23 shots as the Oilers won in overtime to even the series at 2-2.

«I guess you could look at today as the biggest game in my life, but the last game was the biggest game in my life until the next one. It's rinse and repeat for me,» said Pickard, who has played for six NHL teams during his 10-year NHL career. «It's been a great journey. I've been a lot of good places. Grateful that I had the chance to come to Edmonton a couple years ago, and this is what you play for.»

Pickard has made his case to be the Oilers' starter this postseason. He took over the Edmonton crease for an ineffective Skinner in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings, and went 6-0 until an injury in their second-round series against Vegas gave Skinner the starting job again.

With Pickard's win in Game 5, he's just the fourth goalie in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to win at least 7 straight playoff decisions after not starting their team's opening playoff game. Overall, Pickard has made nine appearances with a .896 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average.

But it wasn't an easy call to bench Skinner for the Oilers.

«I don't think Stu was at fault at all for any of the goals the other night,» said Oilers