Jack Campbell has had a polarizing season.
Jack Campbell has had a polarizing season.
EDMONTON -- Goaltending has been a hot topic of discussion for the Edmonton Oilers this season.
The season started terribly - with the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell comprising abyssal stats for the first month. That frustration culminated in Campbell being put on waivers and then sent down to Bakersfield.
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Everything changed when Kris Knoblauch took over the team. Since that point, Calvin Pickard was called up and the combined effort of Pickard and Skinner has been one of the best combinations in the league.
Campbell - on the other hand - has had a rocky tenure with the Condors. His first four games with the team encapsulate it well. Three consecutive games where he gave up four goals twice and then five goals. He then followed that up with a 31 save shutout.
Things continued to be rocky for him through till the end of December. However - his stats since November 21st, have actually been quite good. He has a 16-8-0 record, a 2.38 goals against average, a .929 save percentage and three shutouts.
With all that said, something happened in last night's game against the Calgary Wranglers that is probably the most unlucky thing to happen to a goaltender.
Campbell makes the initial save - the puck shoots straight up into the air where Campbell loses sight of it and it ends up behind him and bounces past the goal line.
It's a very small thing - and it didn't seem to phase him - but of course it happens to Campbell with the up and down season he's been having.
The Bakersfield Condors play the Wranglers again tonight before going back home on Friday.
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