Calvin Pickard wins the day and saves the Edmonton Oilers season

The way the Edmonton Oilers had been all over Vancouver in the previous two games, they didn’t need Calvin Pickard to be sensational in Game 4.

 

Just good.

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He ended up being sensational, anyway.

The 32-year-old backup turned his first ever NHL playoff game into one for the Edmonton sports annals Tuesday, saving 20 shots — and the Oilers season — in a wild 3-2 victory.

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“I was trying to channel my emotions as much as I could,” said Pickard, who is all but guaranteed to be getting the start in Game 5 Thursday in Vancouver. “Obviously it’s tough. It’s a high stakes game, a huge game for us, but I felt comfortable right from the get go. We had great energy early, the crowd was into it. We played great all night.

“(Vancouver) had a couple of good bounces but it didn’t deflate us and it was a huge goal at the end.”

With the crowd at Rogers Place trying to process Vancouver’s 11th hour gut punch, a lucky tying goal with 1:41 left in regulation, Evan Bouchard took care of matters before the shock even had a chance to set in. His wrist shot with 38.1 seconds to play clinched the hard-fought decision and evened the series 2-2.

“It wasn’t ideal giving up that second on in the third, but there wasn’t much time to sulk and think about it,” said Bouchard, who also scored the overtime winner in Edmonton’s Game 2 win.

“We did a great job getting to the net, we were preaching that all game, getting the dirty goals, so kudos to our forwards for battling in front, it’s a tough job. I saw a lane and took it.”

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Instead of being dead men walking in a 3-1 series deficit, the Oilers are back in charge after winning two of the last three games and outshooting Vancouver 45-18 in the other.

Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Vancouver Canucks during first period second-round NHL playoff action in Edmonton on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia

“We played too great of a game not to win this one,” said defenceman Mattias Ekholm. “I was feeling that we were going to get (the winner), whether it was now or in overtime. It was really nice to see that one go in.”

Vancouver hadn’t been the better team through the first three games, but they were winning the goaltending battles. All that changed in Game 4. Arturs Silovs was outstanding again for the Canucks, keeping another game that should have been an Oilers rout close, but it was Pickard, starting in place of a beleaguered Stuart Skinner, who won the day.

It’s a day he’s been waiting an entire career for.

“Drafted by Colorado (in 2010) and playing there for a couple of years you think you’re going to be on the same team you whole career and 10 teams later you’re here,” he said. “It’s been a great journey, a lot of learning experiences and I don’t regret any of it. I’m just grateful for this opportunity.”

So are the Oilers, you can believe that. They needed this even more than Pickard did.

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“You’re always believing, you’re hoping, but now that it’s finally here it’s exciting,” said Pickard, adding he knew he had to stay in the moment. “I didn’t want to let the pressure of a playoff game override what I needed to do. I felt comfortable.”

When a guy who’s as well-liked in the dressing room steps into the line of fire and delivers a clutch performance like that, it resonates. This was not only a vital win, his teammates say it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

“No matter what he’s a great locker room guy, everyone wants to be around him,” said Bouchard. “And when he can go in the net and play like that it’s kind of hard to not want a teammate like Cal on your team.”

Pickard wasn’t called on much while Edmonton controlled the first period, spending almost all of it in Vancouver’s end and going up 1-0 on Leon Draisaitl’s power play goal at 11:10, but he did make a couple of calm, slick saves during Vancouver’s early power play to keep it 1-0 Oilers at the first intermission.

And when Vancouver pushed back in the second period, he was on top of it again, stopping 10 shots and preserving the 1-0 lead until Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put a wrist shot in off the far post at 19:20 to make it 2-0 heading into the third period.

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The Canucks launched their most ferocious pressure in three games in the third period, and closed the lead to 2-1 on Connor Garland’s seeing-eye shot with 13 minutes to play. With Edmonton poised to close out the win Brock Boeser banked a shot off traffic in front of Pickard and it was all tied up with 1:41 to play.

But midnight never came for the Cinderella story in net.

“I don’t know if it’s quite sunk in yet,” said Pickard. “It’s obviously a big win for us. It’s been a long time — making my debut 10 years ago and not getting any playoff action at any level. It was an exciting opportunity for me. The guys plays great in front of me and now it’s a best of three.”

Edmonton Oilers celebrate the game winning goal against the Vancouver Canucks’ during third period, second-round NHL playoff action in Edmonton on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam /PostmediaBig Kills

Beating themselves is something the Oilers wanted to avoid in a pivotal Game 4 but they didn’t exactly follow that script. Darnell Nurse took a crosschecking penalty early in the first period and then, with the Oilers up 1-0 and in total control, Evander Kane took a double minor for getting the lumber up on Tyler Myers.

That could have been disastrous, but Edmonton’s penalty killing units were on fire for all six minutes. The shots during Kane’s four-minute stint were 1-1.

“Our special teams were great, we didn’t give them much on the early kill and that double minor was a pressure point in the game,” said Pickard. “We fed off the crowd and got a lot of clears. That was a big kill for us at the right time.”

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