Game 32: Montreal Canadiens vs. Edmonton Oilers

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Oilers region: Sportsnet West
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+

The Edmonton Oilers have had one glaring weakness for several seasons, and that is goaltending. The team has made back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals despite the issues in net, ranking 11th of the 16 teams in the 2025 post-season with an overall save percentage of .871. The assumption from most people was that they would address the issue that has potentially cost them two championships in the off-season, but they once again went into a new campaign with Stuart Skinner as their number one.

With Edmonton ranking 31st in save percentage midway through December, general manager Stan Bowman finally realized what every other person who follows the sport has known for years: a change was needed between the pipes. He looked to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a solution, swapping Skinner for Tristan Jarry. It was an expensive addition given Jarry’s salary cap hit of $5.375 million dollars for two more seasons after this one, requiring the Oilers to swap out Brett Kulak for Spencer Stastney in separate moves to make the financial element work.

Was that the move that will fix the issue? Jarry does rank 20th in the NHL this season with a .908 save percentage, which would be a game-changing jump over what the Oilers have been getting. But he did have his issues last season, at one point placed on waivers where that meaty contract allowed him to go unclaimed and make it to the AHL. However, it looks like last season was the outlier and not his current start given his career mark of a .909 save percentage, so it should be a significant upgrade.

Tale of the Tape

Canadiens
Statistics
Oilers

16-11-4
Record
15-11-6

48.3% (24th)
Expected-goal share
50.8% (14th)

3.19 (10th)
Goals per game
3.41 (3rd)

3.55 (31st)
Goals against per game
3.38 (26th)

25.3% (6th)
PP%
31.3% (3rd)

76.0% (26th)
PK%
80.5% (17th)

0-1-0
Head-to-Head Record (24-25)
1-0-0

Cole Caufield (17)
Most goals
Connor McDavid (18)

Nick Suzuki (28)
Most assists
Connor McDavid (33)

Nick Suzuki (36)
Most points
Connor McDavid (51)

The Oilers don’t need otherworldly performances from their goaltender to win games. The team easily piles up goals with the third-best offence in the NHL, and Connor McDavid leads the charge with his 51 points, four off Nathan MacKinnon’s league lead. They score on almost one-third of their power plays, making any team pay that tries to slow that offence down with hooks and holds.

Jarry has already claimed a win with his new team, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, so the Habs probably won’t be facing him today after just playing him on Thursday in his final game with the Penguins. The net will likely belong to Calvin Pickard instead, a goalie with an .851 save percentage this season, and one Montreal has already scored on five times this season.

That particular game on October 23 was a showcase of both the Oilers’ netminding woes and their man-advantage prowess, an infamous performance from referee Garrett Rank who kept the Oilers’ nigh-unstoppable power play on the ice for the much of the final two periods with five minor penalties assessed to Montreal versus the Oilers’ one first-period call. The favourable treatment helped Edmonton overcome a 5-3 deficit in the third period to get the win in regulation, taking a vital two points off the Canadiens’ ledger.

Montreal hasn’t usually needed the officials to intervene in spoiling their leads this season. The Canadiens saw the same thing happen last night in New York City, as all they have to show for a 3-0 lead after 16 minutes of play is a single point from a shootout loss. Last Sunday, a 2-1 first-period lead slipped away in just over a minute of the second frame, and Montreal took nothing from the St. Louis Blues.

Following up Sunday’s game with a 6-1 loss to Tampa Bay, the Canadiens’ home record has now fallen to 7-8-1, a big difference from the 9-3-3 performance they’ve put together on the road. They will need to change their results at the Bell Centre if they want to have a positive homestand before ringing in the new year on the annual road trip through the holiday season.