Calvin Pickard will start in net for the Edmonton Oilers in their back-to-back road games beginning Monday against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. The 33-year-old goaltender aims to help the team improve on their 0-2-0 record in the first game of such sets. Forward lines and defense pairings remain unchanged from Saturday's overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Edmonton Oilers open a back-to-back road series on Monday night against the St. Louis Blues, with goaltender Calvin Pickard receiving the start at Enterprise Center. Pickard, who is 2-1-1 this season with a 3.50 goals-against average and .846 save percentage, last played on October 27, making 23 saves on 27 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
This marks the third back-to-back for the Oilers, who will reverse their starter order from previous sets: Pickard on Monday versus the Blues, followed by Stuart Skinner on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. Edmonton holds a 0-2-0 record in the first game of back-to-backs and 0-1-1 in the second, seeking consecutive wins against a Blues team mired in a seven-game losing streak.
Forward lines and defense pairings stay the same as in Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place, with Curtis Lazar on the right wing of the fourth line alongside Isaac Howard and Noah Philp.
Injury updates include forwards Mattias Janmark and Zach Hyman, who skated as extras and are traveling on the road trip while recovering. Head coach Kris Knoblauch indicated both are about a week or more from returning, hopefully before the team's upcoming seven-game East Coast road trip. Winger Kasperi Kapanen is also on the trip but remains a few weeks away from play due to a lower-body injury.
Projected lineup:
- Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Mangiapane
- Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Roslovic
- Savoie - Henrique - Frederic
- Howard - Philp - Lazar
- Ekholm - Bouchard
- Nurse - Walman
- Kulak - Emberson
- Pickard / Skinner