West Second Round Notes: Pickard, Toews, Henrique, Stars

Looking to even up their series against the Vancouver Canucks tonight, the Edmonton Oilers will be making a major change in the crease. As mentioned in a pre-game update from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Oilers will be looking to goaltender Calvin Pickard to backstop their team to a victory tonight.

The decision has little mystery, as Edmonton has received a completely different version of Stuart Skinner in their Round Two matchup. Against the Los Angeles Kings, Skinner stopped 132 of 145 shots en route to a solid .910 save percentage after Round One. However, in the team’s first three games against Vancouver, Skinner has only stopped 46 of 58 total shots, leading to a dismal .793 SV%.

Stepping in for a little over 16 minutes of Game 3, Pickard will take the crease for the first playoff start of his career. Getting an opportunity as the backup after the Oilers waived Jack Campbell in early November, Pickard helped stabilize the goaltending situation in Edmonton over the course of the regular season. Over 23 games played, Pickard earned a 12-7-1 record, posting a .909 SV% and 2.45 goals against average in the process.

Other second-round notes:

• After missing the team’s Game 4 matchup against the Dallas Stars last night, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews will be traveling with the team to Texas, and the organization is hopeful that he can return to the lineup for Game 5 (X Link). Head coach of the Avalanche, Jared Bednar, reiterated to reporters that Toews missed Game 4 due to illness and that his absence was not related to the hit delivered by Stars’ forward Jamie Benn in the second period of Game 2. On the brink of elimination for the first time this postseason, Colorado’s chances of extending the series will increase if Toews is able to crack the lineup for Game 5.
• Moving back to Alberta, Oilers TV reporter Tony Brar confirmed that forward Adam Henrique will not be in Edmonton’s lineup for Game 4. In his first postseason appearance since the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Henrique had been a valuable defensive presence in the Oilers’ forward core through the first six games of the playoffs. Scoring only one goal and two points while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per night, Henrique has been extremely physical, averaging 3.7 hits a game against the Kings and the Canucks.
• While both were shaken up in the Stars’ Game 4 victory against the Avalanche last night, head coach Peter DeBoer did not offer any updates on the status of Roope Hintz or Chris Tanev (X Link). Hintz, who was only able to manage 6:35 of ice time, left the game during the first period and would not return. Tanev, on the other hand, managed over 21 minutes of ice time and left the game in the third period after getting shaken up by a hit. However, as in the case of most teams in the playoffs, both players could be ready to return for Game 5, and the update could be some gamesmanship on behalf of the Stars organization.