How important was depth scoring in this series for Oilers?

How important was depth scoring in this series for Oilers?

Slovenia’s most famous athlete right there. The series turned in game three when a goal go by Evander Kane was challenged by LA in the third. Kings lose the challenge. Give up a goal 10 seconds later. Oilers never look back. Edmonton winning four straight. For the first time since January. For more. We are joined by our Edmonton bureau chief Ryan Rashad who is in the building following this Oiler victory. Uh 10 different Oilers with at least a point in game six. Ryan, this is a team that was desperate for depth scoring forever it seemed and now it seems to have arrived and the Oilers are in the second round. Yeah. No, it really did Jane in particular over, you know, the last couple of games, right? So, three points for Conor McDavid and Leon Dryidle and they played reasonably well the last couple of games, but the story here was about other players stepping up in key moments and stressful moments and finding offense for this group. Chris Knobblock had so much trust just kept turning the lines over. He kept his fourth line actively engaged in this game tonight. You know, he kept most of his defenseman playing regularly and it showed. The Oers had the energy and you see contributions here from guys other than 29 and 97. Connor Brown, according to Conor McDavid, played the best game of his career as an Edmonton Oiler. You know, Matias Yanmark in that fourth line. Uh they were relentless at times and Darnell Nurse comes through with a big goal as well. So this Oiler team plays its absolute best. They click the most, Jay, when they’re rolling the lines over, when everybody is getting a feel for it and everybody is contributing. The energy on the bench, the energy in the room, the way they talk about themselves. You can see the confidence has grown throughout their lineup. And that’s exactly what you want heading into this next round series against Vegas. And Ryan, Calvin Pickard gets the nod in game three and doesn’t lose the rest of the way. 23 saves in game number six. I thought it was interesting what Chris Knobblock said after game six. He said he never hesitated to put Pickard in and Pickard really rewarded him, didn’t he? Yeah. Well, I mean, they had confidence because they went to Pickard in the playoffs last year in the Vancouver series and he was really good. Now, they eventually got back to Stuart Skinner, but Pickard came in and did what a backup is supposed to do. And so, why would you hesitate to go to him, you know, this season in the playoffs? He was very good down the stretch for this team. played a lot of games for them this year. And after Steuart Skinner struggled in the first couple of games, you make the switch and Calvin Pickard is a grinder in there, right? It’s not the prettiest style of goalending, but he gets it done. And one of the things he talked about a couple of games ago was battling back when you let in a goal that you don’t love. That happened to him tonight. But he battles and he stays in it and he stays engaged. And he made some big saves for them late. There were some stressful moments and that’s when Calvin Pickard was at his best. He stays calm when things are getting a little bit crazy in there. He’s much loved in this locker room. He is heavily trusted. And I don’t see a reason, Jay, why they would consider getting away from Kelvin Pickard going into this next series. Remember, Stuart Skinner is the one that got them to the promised land, right? That that game seven of the Stanley Cup final on Skinner’s back. So, it wouldn’t stun me if they looked for the opportunity to maybe go back to Skinner as their core starter. But in the meantime, Kelvin Pickard is showing them a lot. And I know they would love to get Matias Ekholm in the lineup. He is still injured, Ryan, as we both know. And after game six, you know, he was asked Chris Knoblock was the chances of getting Ekolome for round number two. He said very unlikely. Doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. How tough do you think it’s going to be for the Oilers to continue on without Big Eholm in the lineup? Yeah, I mean, he’s he’s sorely missed. There’s no question. I think the news is better than what they originally thought. But I think at first, you know, the diagnosis was potentially he was done for the year, but I think they they kept pushing through, got some other opinions, and I think there’s some optimism that if the Oilers could get through to a third round or maybe a Stanley Cup final that you could see big number 14 back on the blue line. But listen, I mean, you know, they had contributions from guys. John Clingberg stepped in. We had no idea what he’d be able to give them in this series. He gave them a second pairing, Jay, with the quality of his play. And that kind of came out of nowhere because he didn’t play much towards the end of the season. So between he and Walman, Kulak was pretty strong in this series as well. The Oers have a pretty solid unit, but Vegas is going to test him in a different way. They’re going to be pushed. They’re going to be hit more. They’re going to be pressed and it’ll be interesting to see how those guys hold because LA was not a heavy forchecking team. It’ll feel different in the next round. Ryan Rashad, great work. We’ll see you in the second round.

How important was depth scoring in this series for the Oilers? How would you assess Calvin Pickard’s series after taking over for Stuart Skinner? What’s the status of Mattias Ekholm for the second round? TSN Oilers reporter Ryan Rishaug joins SC with Jay Onrait to discuss.