EDMONTON — Stuart Skinner steps back in between the pipes for Edmonton tonight in Game 3, with Calvin Pickard listed as “day to day” after an injury sustained in Game 2.
It will be Skinner’s first start since Game 2 of the opening round against Los Angeles, before Pickard took over and the Oilers began their current six-game win streak.
“Not the situation that we probably want to be in,” said Skinner, referring to the Pickard injury, “but that’s playoffs. You need two goalies to go all the way. I’m excited to go back into the net. I’ve had some time to work on some things, and I’m ready to go.”
Skinner made 50 starts this season to Pickard’s 31, so it’s a bit of a unique situation to see a starter returning to a team on its best run of the season — of which he hasn’t played any part.
So, what’s the history here?
You’ll recall that Pickard spelled Skinner off for two playoff games a year ago in Round 2 against Vancouver. Skinner returned for Game 6 of that series, surrendered just three goals over the next two games, and started the final 15 games of the playoffs.
His numbers after the Pickard reset were excellent: a 9-6 record, a .914 save percentage, a 2.05 goals against average, and one win shy of a Stanley Cup championship.
“I’ve been here before, so it’s nothing that’s new to me,” Skinner said after the morning skate Saturday. “It’s an opportunity again for me to go into the net, do my job and just give these guys a chance to win. That’s all I can do.”
Pickard was injured late in Game 2 when he got tangled up in his crease with Vegas centre Tomas Hertl. We believe Pickard skated Saturday morning prior to the Oilers morning skate, but the extent or any details of his injury were not made public by the club.
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McNabb, Saad Out For Vegas
Across the way, the Golden Knights are dealing with two key players who are not expected to play tonight, though they’ll get some relief by the return of their leading regular-season goal scorer, Pavel Dorofeyev.
Davidson, Saskatchewan native Brayden McNabb, the best defender on the Vegas blue line, will not play after being tripped into the boards by Viktor Arvidsson in overtime of Game 2. Second-line left-winger Brandon Saad also did not practice Saturday. Both are listed by Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy as “day to day,” with Saad having a lower-body injury sustained in Game 2.
You can set your watch by it: we’re three weeks into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and guys are starting to go down. It’s a rite of spring in the National Hockey League.
“He’s a huge guy for us back there,” defenceman Nicolas Hague of McNabb, who played 18:49 and 27:44 in Games 1 and 2. “But we’ve always done it here. We do have a lot of depth … so if that’s the case here, it’ll be no different than the past when guys have gone down. We’ve always done a good job of kind of stepping up.”
Saad has only contributed two assists in eight games, while Dorofeyev’s 35 goals led the Knights this season. This is only NHL playoff game No. 7 for the 24-year-old however, and he’ll be stepping into the lion’s den in a sold out Rogers Place, with his team in desperation mode, down 0-2.
“For his own personal development,” said Cassidy, “not only for this year but going forward, these are experiences that if you ask most young guys, they’ve got to live through. They’ll get better from year to year, and we could use him out there now and going forward.”
Here’s how the line shake down tonight:
Oilers
Draisaitl – McDavid – Perry
Kane – RNH – Hyman
Frederic – Henrique – Brown
Podkolzin – Janmark – Arvidsson
Nurse – Bouchard
Walman – Klingberg
Kulak – Emberson
Skinner
Golden Knights
Barbashev-Eichel-Stone
Olofsson -Hertl- Dorofeyev
Howden-Karlsson-Smith
Pearson-Roy-Kolesar
Theodore Pietrangelo
Hanifin-Whitecloud
Hague-Korczak
Hill
Roy Not Suspended
Nicolas Roy avoided a suspension for cross-checking Trent Frederic in Game 2, getting a chance to plead his case to the Department of Player Safety hearing Friday evening.
He explained that he was trying to hit the puck with the shaft of his stick, not Frederic’s face, and walked away with just a $7,812.50 fine, a mere parking ticket compared to his $3 million salary.
“It happens so quick, right?” Roy said in explaining the play. “The puck was head high, and I was trying to put it back in the corner. Never had the intention of even cross-checking him. I’ve got to be doing a better job at being aware of what’s around me, and doing a better job with my stick. I guess I’m happy to see he’s not injured. But again, I think it’s just an accident.”
Frederic said the cross-check struck him right between his mouth and nose, and he’s fine. So, in a year where Player Safety has been all over the map on cross-checks, throw this one on the pile as a head scratcher.
