Edmonton Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram looks to continue his hot streak in net, earning his third straight start as he faces the Flames.
It will be Connor Ingram’s crease against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night as the netminder gets his third consecutive start for the Edmonton Oilers. Ingram had 18 saves to improve to 2-0-0 on Tuesday in his first Battle of Alberta, and head coach Kris Knoblauch said before the game that he's going back to Ingram as a reward for "getting the wins."
Ingram wasn't tested all that often in the previous matchup between these two teams, but when he was called upon to make the saves expected of him, he delivered.
It wasn't that long ago that Ingram was an afterthought. But, with a trade and some unfortunate timing with injuries, the Oilers called him up earlier than anticipated. He's been excellent.
In his two games for Edmonton, he is boasts a .920Sv% and 2.00 GAA. He has been solid, but it's also been a byproduct of the Oilers playing better in front of him. That was something Knoblauch also addressed on Saturday -- giving props to Calvin Pickard, who will back up Ingram.
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Knoblauch was asked about how tough a decision it was not to play Pickard. The choice to go with Ingram likely wasn't tough, but the coach did acknowledge that this wasn't about a lack of faith in Pickard's game. Knoblauch knows that Pickard's numbers don’t reflect strong play, but he was quick to point out the team has played “some really bad hockey” in front of him. That wasn't always the case, which likely explains Pickard's dramatic drop-off.
Are the Oilers more confident in front of Ingram? Maybe. That's not to say they don't adore Pickard. But, the hot hand is the hot hand.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of Ingram going back in: "I think the first one was a quick turnaround for him, but just watching him, he just seems calm and confident in the net. We've definitely liked what we've seen, and we're trying to make it as easy as possible for him."
Knoblauch added, "As for making that decision, it's been difficult. Here's a guy that has played well for us, has come up with some really big wins for us in the past, and we ultimately just wanted to see what Connor had in back-to-back games, because his first game was good and the second game didn't get tested very much. But when needed, he came up with some big saves."
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