Calvin Pickard and Skinner Make Oilers History
The Edmonton Oilers tandem get a unique statistic added to their season's resume.
EDMONTON -- On the second half of a back-to-back, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0.
Darnell Nurse led the way offensively with two goals, seven shots and a hit in 19:49 of work. His two goals helped put the game away for the Oilers and prevent a Penguins comeback.
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The more interesting story is the goaltending situation. Calvin Pickard stopped all 41 shots he faced - earned the shutout.
There's just one catch, Stuart Skinner also earned a shutout.
That's right - Skinner and Pickard are sharing this one. Simply because Pickard had to come out for about a minute and a half. When he was plowed over at the end of the second period he needed to get pulled, as per concussion protocol. Then once he was cleared he could come back in.
The Oilers have gotten exceptional goaltending since Kris Knoblauch took over.
In particular, Pickard has been sensational. He has a 9-4-0 record, a 2.27 goals against average (GAA) and a .919 save percentage (SV%). Skinner has been equally as good with a 29-13-3 record to go along with a 2.58 GAA and a .907 SV%.
This was the second time in Oilers history that two goalies shared a shutout in a game. The only other time that it happened was back in 1985 - Andy Moog and Grant Fuhr combined for a shutout against the Quebec Nordiques.
All in all, the Oilers were seeing double this past weekend. A "double" loss to the Buffalo Sabres and a "double" shutout against the Penguins.
You're just gotta love the game of hockey.
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