Thanks to Calvin Pickard, the Edmonton Oilers can finally put their 5-game losing streak behind them. The goalie was at the center of the 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, and naturally, Leon Draisaitl was impressed.

The Edmonton Oilers took to X on Saturday to capture Draisaitl’s reaction to Pickard’s performance on the night. “Yeah, he was great. He gives us a chance to win every night. You know, I think everybody in our room loves him.” he said. He also added, “He’s just a great teammate to have, and we love playing for him. So yeah, he was great, especially obviously that breakaway late.” And if you thought that’s all the praise that

Coach Knoblauch also said, “I think the last two games we did a much better job of digging in & competing a lot harder… Tonight we were able to keep the puck out of the net with Picks making some big saves.” Calvin Pickard’s tremendous efforts ended the Edmonton Oilers’ 5-game losing streak. Stopping 35 of the 36 shots that came his way, Pickard recorded his highest save percentage of the season (0.972). In fact, the story could have been different had he not made a game-defending save when it looked like Canes goalscorer Sebastian Aho would bury the shorthanded breakaway in the final minute of regulation time.

While Adam Henrique and Corey Perry gave the Oilers a 2-goal advantage, the final nail in the Hurricanes’ coffin was hammered in by defenceman Evan Bouchard with just a second to go in regulation time. But coming back to Pickard’s performance, the goalie was more than just prepared to put up his best performance of the season. 

Calvin Pickard had an eventful morning skate

Pickard probably would have had to sit out the game vs the Hurricanes had it not been for his headgear. Hours before the game, during the morning skate Vasily Podkolzin got a little extra competitive as he hit a puck off the goalie’s head, bending a bar of the headgear in the process. As for Pickard, he didn’t care. He put on his spare gear and hit the ice again. But the hits? Well, they didn’t stop. 

When someone asked Pickard, “Who got ya in the mask?” He rightly replied, “Who didn’t?” Well, those hits on the mask seemed to have prepared him well, as he also received a couple of them as he came in clutch to give the Oilers their first win in Raleigh in over 4 years.

Moreover, the performance also brought a sense of relief to Pickard. “It felt like a little bit more, for myself, coming off a tough one last weekend (a 7-3 loss from the Washington Capitals). And then obviously, our team’s situation right now too,” said the goalie after the game. What’s interesting is that despite the huge loss, Pickard still got his fair share of appreciation after the game from Connor McDavid. 

Calvin Pickard couldn’t have chosen a better time to return to his usual goaltending self. And it’s safe to say that with him back in form the Oilers can sleep a little easier and dream a little bigger now that the playoffs are knocking on the door.