The Oilers' new goalie tandem, Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram, has had hot moments but struggled in the past week-and-a-half. It's not time to panic, but the pressure's increasing.
The Edmonton Oilers didn't need goaltending struggles to become a talking point again this season.
After starting out slowly, the Oilers now sit tied in points with the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division. But they've allowed at least four goals against in four of their last five games heading into Tuesday's contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That naturally turned the pressure up on the Oilers' goalies, one of whom cleared waivers on Monday.
Calvin Pickard was waived on Sunday after not playing since Jan. 8. He has a 5-6-2 record, 3.68 goals-against average and .871 save percentage in 16 appearances. But the promotion of Connor Ingram and the acquisition of Tristan Jarry essentially pushed Pickard out of the top of the Oilers' depth chart – and now, the pressure has clearly shifted to Jarry and Ingram.
Jarry has a 3.59 GAA, .873 SP and one shutout in 10 games since the Oilers acquired him from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his last seven games, Jarry had an SP of .882 or worse five times.
Although Ingram's 6-3-1 record, .901 SP and 2.55 GAA are better than Jarry's, you run the risk of wearing out Ingramif you can't get better showings out of Jarry. In the past four games, each goalie started twice and came into a third game as a replacement. Ingram has an .810 SP and 4.06 GAA in that span, which put an end to his hot streak.
For better or worse, the Oilers' goalie picture is what they're locked into the rest of the year. And former NHL goalie Devan Dubnyk said on The Hockey News Big Show he thinks Edmonton is sticking with the goalies they've got.
"I don't think that they're going to make a move," Dubnyk said. "I think they're happy with Ingram… they can't panic, either… so I think that this is what they got.
"I don't think they should be panicking over a five-game stretch."
Ingram, after all, had a .917 SP and 2.22 GAA in his first nine games since the Oilers called him up from AHL Bakersfield, and Jarry still has five goals saved above expected this season combined between Pittsburgh and Edmonton, according to moneypuck.com.
But imagine, for a moment, that Edmonton's goaltending has a slump like their latest stretch in the first or second round of the playoffs. What happens if you're GM Stan Bowman, and there's a blatant sinkhole between your team's pipes? You have to move heaven and earth to acquire Jesper Wallstedt from Minnesota at that point, right? No more half measures. You're going to have to pay dearly for proven talent, but getting in on a youngster like Wallstedt would be your best bet for a sure thing.
The fickleness of Edmonton's goaltending means Pickard and Stuart Skinner, who backstopped the team to the Cup final in the last two seasons, aren't on the team right now. Pickard is in the AHL, and Skinner is now a Pittsburgh Penguin who has won eight of his past nine games and had a save percentage of .912 or better seven times in that span. So maybe the problems in Edmonton run deeper than just the poor soul in goal for them at any given time.
In any case, with the Oilers' goaltending being a topic of concern in the past week-and-a-half, there will be pressure for Jarry and Ingram to quickly silence that conversation.
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