EDMONTON — It’s amazing how the shopping list has changed in Edmonton, as a team that needed help in every area back in early November has now spent two months as the best team in the National Hockey League.
Remember the panic over the goaltending, when Stuart Skinner’s numbers were subterranean, and Jack Campbell was playing his way into the starting role — down in Bakersfield?
Ken Holland was instructed to get a goalie — STAT! — but somehow withstood the pressure, firing his head coach instead.
Today, after a 3-0 shutout over the Chicago Blackhawks — posted by backup Calvin Pickard — it’s time to take an entirely fresh look at what this team should do in goal come Deadline Day.
Pickard stopped all 27 Blackhawks shots on a sleepy Thursday night at Rogers Place, as the newly minted defensive juggernaut Oilers extended their team record with the 13th consecutive game allowing two goals or less.
Is it boring? Sure.
Is it effective? It’s 15-wins-in-a-row effective.
“It’s exciting for us,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest serving Oiler. “It is how we want to play. We have been striving to play like this for a long time now.”
On a rare night of late where Connor McDavid (two goals, one assist) and Leon Draisaitl (three assists) carried the Oilers offensively, Edmonton confidently nursed a 1-0 lead past the five-minute mark of the third period. They’ve become experts at the long game, a rinse-and-repeat that they hope will ultimately leave them more comfortable than they’ve ever been in tight, low-scoring games come playoff time.
“It is about staying around in games,” Nugent-Hopkins said, “and obviously the goalies have to step up and make the big saves when we need them to. Defensively, we have just been solid. It is not trading chances here and there.
“It is just staying within ourselves and trusting the process. It is paying off right now.”
Somewhat buried in the tedium Thursday was the fact the Oilers ran their winning streak to 15 games. That’s tied for the third longest in NHL history with the 1981-82 New York Islanders and the 2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins.
They get Nashville in an afternoon game Saturday, and if the Oilers can win that, they’ll try to time the all-time record when they open in Vegas after the All-Star break.
Skinner was the first star in beating Columbus on Tuesday, while Pickard was perfect on Thursday — even stopping a MacKenzie Entwistle penalty shot along the way.
“I always remind myself to be patient, get out and have a good gap,” Pickard said. “So when he took that shot, I was in a good spot. It was a good time to make a save, right at the end of the second period.”
The Oilers signed Pickard to be a No. 3 and play out the season in Bakersfield, giving them an experienced ‘tendy to call up in case of injury to Skinner or Campbell. He got called up when Campbell flamed out, and hasn’t been back to Bako since.
“I mean, it’s always what you’re striving to do for sure,” he said of spending an unexpected season in the big leagues. “When I got called up … it started off with not much action there for a while, but I’ve been happy with where my game’s at the last couple of months. I just want to keep doing my thing.”
Today, with Campbell appearing to have found his game in the AHL, and Pickard’s numbers — he’s 4-2 with a .915 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average — being better than average, it’s fair to ask the question:
Can Edmonton go into the playoffs with Skinner as its No. 1, with a pair of backups in Pickard and Campbell? Remember 2006, when the Oilers rode Dwayne Roloson to the Stanley Cup Final, with Jussi Markkanen and Ty Conklin as Nos. 2 and 2-A?
“Every time he has stepped in he has been outstanding for us,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “In the Detroit game (last week) he made some huge saves to keep us in it and it was the same thing tonight. It can’t be easy (playing so seldom).”
The Blackhawks were a soft start for Pickard, having scored two or fewer goals in seven of their past nine games. Meanwhile, the Oilers are on a team record skein of allowing two or less. They haven’t allowed three goals in a game since before Christmas.
Stingy? These guys are tightwads the likes of which this town has never seen.
“Speaking as a defenceman,” said Darnell Nurse, “it’s nice when you’re able to shut things down, limit chances and play sound defensively. From my perspective it’s pretty fun to play in these types of situations.”
It’s now 18 straight road losses for Chicago, collecting just a single loser point along the way. They have a minus-57 goal differential during that time, as a team that was never going to be very good has lost Connor Bedard, Taylor Hall and a host of others to injury.
On the flip side, the Oilers are on a torrid 23-3 run now. They’re four points up on the spiralling Los Angeles Kings, and just five back of second-place Vegas — with four games in hand and a slightly better winning percentage (.648 to .646).
