This in from Tony Brar of Oilers TV: “Connor Ingram will start vs. CGY.”
And from Bob Stauffer of the Oilers, Edmonton’s lines, with Trent Frederic back in the line-up after sitting out one game:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Roslovic
Mangiapane-Henrique-Savoie
Jones-Frederic-Janmark
Lazar-Tomasek
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Regula
Stastney-Emberson
Stillman
Ingram
Pickard
My take
1. First off, why is this a big game, as I write in the headline. Because the Oilers have a chance to reach real .500 tonight. In its first 37 games, Edmonton has 18 wins and 19 losses (including extra time losses). Win tonight and they are real .500. In the past (before Bettman brought in loser points), making it to real .500 was the first standard that any NHL team on the rise had to meet before you could take them seriously. The Oilers can get there tonight.
2. My Cult of Hockey colleague Kurt Leavins and I had a good debate on our last podcast over what will happen in net while Tristan Jarry is out with injury (and at least we all think this might be short term, though with the Oilers you never know). Will Connor Ingram be the No. 1 goalie? Will Calvin Pickard be the No. 1 goalie? Or will it be more of a 1A or 1B situation?
3. My own take is that it makes sense for the Oilers to go with Ingram as the starter in Jarry’s absence. My reasons for this are a) the Oilers can’t count on Calvin Pickard as a starting goalie, as he hasn’t been an NHL starter since the 2016-17 season, b) Pickard has struggled mightily this year, driving home that he’s not a starter, c) Ingram has been a solid starter in the NHL two out of the past three seasons, d) Edmonton can’t count on Jarry being healthy in the playoffs, e) Edmonton can use this opportunity right now to see if Ingram can do that job so why not take advantage of this moment?, and f) if Ingram succeeds there is no need to trade for another goalie, but if he doesn’t get it done Edmonton might want to do so.
4. All that said, I thought that coach Kris Knoblauch might well go with Pickard over Ingram tonight, as Knoblauch is known to favour veterans, and Pickard is both longer serving and more established in Edmonton. Glad to see I was wrong and hoping for the best with Ingram. How do you see it?
At the Cult of Hockey
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