The Edmonton Oilers, who are playing the Vancouver Canucks at home on Tuesday, are just 2-1 behind in their Western Conference semifinal series. However, the Oilers are under pressure to win even before the series gets out of control, and they are staring at two major, age-old problems about their team: goaltending and depth.
After Sunday’s 4-3 home defeat, head coach Kris Knoblauch seems to have the solution to one of the queries. As reported by the Daily Faceoff on Tuesday, he is starting backup goalie Calvin Pickard in place of starter Stuart Skinner, who gave up four goals on fifteen shots before being yanked in Game 4. Monday’s media availability session started with Skinner expressing regret for not speaking with reporters following Sunday’s defeat because he believed he had “let the team down.” The 25-year-old claimed he has to make some changes to his game. To tell you the truth, I don’t believe it’s a technological issue. Just me having the ability to make stops at crucial moments, which I haven’t been able to do,” said Skinner, who has let in 12 goals on 58 shots in the series.
His goals-against average (GAA) of 4.40 greatly above his regular season GAA of 2.62. It would also be beneficial if the supporting cast of the Oilers began to contribute. Though the team’s success has been depended on the productivity of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Mattias Ekholm—often on the power play—captain Connor McDavid was kept without a point for the first time in the playoffs in Sunday’s game. Players like Mattias Janmark, Ryan McLeod, Corey Perry, and Evander Kane have not made an impact.
Kane remarked, “We have to bury some of the chances.” “We could have easily scored seven or eight goals (Sunday) night, but we didn’t, and gave up too many and the result is the result.” Arturs Silovs, the rookie goaltender for the Canucks, has played a significant role. The injuries that kept Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith out of action forced the team to turn to their third-string player for the first round of play. Silovs put on a brilliant display on Sunday, making 42 saves, 21 of which were in the final period to secure the win. In the postseason, Silovs had a 4-2 record.
“We have games from the child. Silovs is performing on a huge platform and isn’t faltering, according to coach Rick Tocchet. “He is consistently showing up and working diligently. He’s a man of little upkeep. He’s not someone I see all that often, and having participated in some pressure games, this is beneficial for him.
With a victory on Tuesday, the Canucks—who also triumphed in their four regular-season games with Edmonton—would take control and have the chance to seal the deal at home. They understand, nevertheless, that it is perilous to be outshot by such a large margin. “We didn’t want to defend that much,” stated the game’s top scorer, center Elias Lindholm. “We played well in the first quarter, but we wanted to attack more and started chatting when we had such a big lead. However, it was simply how this game unfolded.”
Defenseman Carson Soucy will miss Game 4 for the Canucks due to a one-game ban from the NHL Department of Player Safety for his cross-check on McDavid following the final buzzer. Nikita Zadorov, a defenceman for the Canucks, slapped the Edmonton captain in the face after cross-checking McDavid from behind into Soucy, whose stick was at a “unacceptably high level,” according to the league. Soucy’s likely successor in Vancouver’s starting lineup is Noah Juulsen.
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