Ouch! Red hot Oilers goalie will also miss Game 4. What's it mean?
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This in from multiple mainstream media sources, word from Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch that goalie Calvin Pickard will also missed Game Four.
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Pickard was injured in Game Two when Vegas forward Tomas Hertl crashed over him. There was no penalty on the suspicious looking play.
Pickard has won all six of his playoff games this year, while Stuart Skinner has lost all three of his games, including Saturday night's 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
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My take
1. Many fans were outraged at Skinner's performance in Game Three. Not me. I thought Skinner was OK. Yes he gave up a bad rebound on the first goal and he let a puck get through him into the crease on the winning goal. But he had 16 Grade A shots directed against him, while the Oilers had just 10. The expected goals in the game were 4.3 against the Oilers. Skinner let in four. In other words, he was average in the game, just as Adin Hill was letting in three goals against with an expected goals against of 2.9.
Goaltending was not the difference in this game. Edmonton's numerous mental errors and lost battles were the difference. Vegas wanted Game 3 more, was the sharper, more focused team and they deserved the win.
2. I expect Skinner will be at least OK in Game Four. In many of his wins, Pickard was just OK, no better than Skinner was on Saturday night. That said, it was a major blow to the OIlers when Pickard went out with injury, and it's bad news he'll miss Game Four. He was on a red hot winning streak and had played his best game in Game Two, when Vegas had 21 Grade A shots on him, 11 of them 5-alarmers, yet Pickard still won the match, out-duelling Hill.
At the Cult of Hockey
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