Calvin Pickard is set to be thrust into the spotlight of the Edmonton Oilers’ opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings, starting Game 3 Friday night as the series shifts back to Alberta.

Pickard will take over the starting goaltender spot from Stuart Skinner, who struggled mightily in Games 1 and 2 of the series, allowing 11 goals against on 58 shots for a .810 save percentage as the Oilers fell 2-0 in the series.

This will mark Pickard’s third start in the playoffs over the last two seasons after he entered for Games 4 and 5 of the Oilers’ second round series against the Vancouver Canucks last year. He went 1-1 in those games, posting a .911 save percentage, allowing five goals against.

This season he played more games than he had in 2023-24, appearing in 36 for the Oilers and starting 31, posting a 22-10-1 record, a .900 save percentage and a 2.71 goals against average. Pickard got two starts against the Kings late in the regular season, allowing seven goals against on 64 shots for a .891 save percentage and a 3.52 goals against average, though many Oilers were missing from those games.

Pickard getting the start isn’t the only notable change to the Oilers lineup as Kris Knoblauch and co. blended the lines once again. Most notably, Zach Hyman will join Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers top line, while Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson will flank Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the second line.

The third line will see Adam Henrique centring Evander Kane and Connor Brown, while Mattias Janmark will centre Trent Frederic and Corey Perry on the fourth line. Jeff Skinner will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game.

On the blue line, the pairings rotated, Bob Stauffer highlighted, with John Klingberg with Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse with Ty Emberson and Brett Kulak with Jake Walman. Josh Brown and Troy Stecher also skated together.

It’s near do-or-die time for the Oilers, who find themselves in a tough spot down 2-0 in the series after dropping Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles on Monday and Wednesday of this week.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.