EDMONTON, AB – Goaltender Calvin Pickard will get the start tonight, while forward Derek Ryan will be out of the lineup for the Edmonton Oilers when they wrap up a back-to-back on Sunday night at Rogers Place against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that Ryan will be out with a minor injury tonight and will be replaced by Sam Gagner, who's expected to draw in on the fourth line for the first time in five games after last playing on Feb. 21 against the Bruins.
Knoblauch said he expects Ryan to be ready for the start of their four-game road trip in Boston on Tuesday.
Pickard will get the nod in goal tonight having won seven of his last nine starts dating back to Dec. 10 in a backup role behind Stuart Skinner, who stopped 24 shots for the victory in Saturday afternoon's 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken.
"It's important for sure," Pickard said of his relationship with Skinner. "He does it quite a bit for me and I do it for him as well. He's been playing really well. It's fun to see him succeed. He puts the work in and he's dialled in, especially for a young guy. It's very impressive and I just want to keep this thing rolling tonight."
Pickard has been steady between the pipes when called upon this season, contributing a 7-3-0 record, a .905 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average over 11 appearances (10 starts). He is expected to be opposed by Alex Nedeljkovic after Tristan Jarry made 16 saves on 20 shots in Pittsburgh's loss to Calgary on Saturday night.
"Picks has been great. He's come in and he's been a big part of the group," captain Connor McDavid said. "He's great for Stu. Those two get along really well and do a great job of lifting each other and pushing each other to better. That's all you can really ask from your goalie duo, and Picks in his own right has been at a very high level for a long time here."
