The Edmonton Oilers net belongs to Connor Ingram until further notice.

The 28-year-old goaltender, called up from AHL Bakersfield in the wake of Tristan Jarry’s injury, will make his third-consecutive start tonight against the Calgary Flames.

And why not? Ingram is 2-0 with a .920 save percentage in his first two starts for a resurgent Oilers team, so head coach Kris Knoblauch is electing to ride the hot hand and see where this goes.

Ingram stopped 28 of 31 shots in a 4-3 win over Vegas and 18 of 19 shots in a 5-1 win over Calgary.

“He’s playing really well, and he played well against Calgary last game,” said Knoblauch. “We’re just rewarding him for getting the wins.”

If Jarry’s injury situation becomes a recurring issue (this is the second time he’s been out this season and this time it was a non-contract injury), the Oilers need to know what they have in Ingram, who is back in the NHL after taking nearly a year off to address some mental health issues.

There aren’t a lot of options, of course. Stuart Skinner plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins now, Jarry is injured again and Calvin Pickard is 3-5-2 on the season with an .861 save percentage and 3.93 goals against average.

On a personal level it’s a difficult call to leave Pickard on the shelf, especially now that the Oilers have turned their game round defensively, but there’s no time for emotion in a playoff chase.

“It’s tough changing that up,” said Knoblauch. “I know his numbers don’t say that he’s playing well, but I think we’ve played some really bad hockey in front of him when he’s played. It’s ben really unfair for him.

“As for making the decision, yeah, it’s been difficult. Here’s a guy who’s played well for us, who’s come up with some really big wins for us in the past. But we ultimately want to see what Connor had in back-to-back games.”

The players are gaining confidence in the new guy rather quickly.

“It’s not an easy thing to come in like this,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “But just watching him he seems calm and confident in the net. He’s square to everything and a good athlete. So far we’ve liked what we’ve seen and we’re trying to make things as easy as possible on him.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

Related

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun