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In a long season where teams can always use an extra spark, a reason to get excited about a feel-good story line, Sunday night was it.
A 31-year-old minor league goalie steps between the pipes against one of the scariest offensive teams in the league and rocks a 26-save first star effort for his first NHL win in almost two years.
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“It was unbelievable,” grinned Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse after a 4-1 matinee win over the New Jersey Devils that was never in doubt.
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“Obviously he’s stayed ready and it shows all the work he’s been putting in. He came out and made some huge saves for us, especially down the line at the end there. It was awesome to see.”
“It’s exciting,” added winger Connor Brown. “It’s one of those things where everyone just feels so happy for the guy. He stood on his head, especially down the stretch in that game. I thought he did a great job. You’re nothing but happy for him.”
And if that wasn’t enough, it was also Edmonton’s seventh win in a row and got them to .500 (12-12-1) for the first time this season after a 2-9-1 start threatened to end their season before it could even get started.
All in all, they couldn’t have scripted a better finish.
“You can’t put too much pressure on yourself when you don’t play very often but I felt good in practice and I wanted to keep it going,” said goaltender Calvin Pickard. “I thought we played a great game all the way through, very defensive, really good special teams and deserved the win.”
When things are going right, they’re going right.
In a tight room where Pickard has emerged as a very popular figure this was worth more than two points, which is saying something given how important the two points are.
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“For sure, he’s such a team-first guy, such a good guy on and off the ice,” said defenceman Vincent Desharnais, who knows a thing or two about grinding it out in the minors and hoping for a chance.
“He’s in a tough position right now, he hasn’t played very much, but he works very hard on the ice. To see him get a big win like that against a very good team is really awesome.
“And I think his family was here tonight, too. So overall for him it was a pretty good day.”
With head coach Kris Knoblauch making Pickard the surprise starter, which seemed like a risky move, going with a cold backup against a high-powered offence, the Oilers circled the wagons around their goalie, clamping down on New Jersey like they were a piece of beef jerky and never letting go.
Not to suggest the Oilers choked the life out of the game. They scored four times (Derek Ryan, Evan Bouchard, Connor McDavid and Evander Kane), hit three posts and had two goals disallowed, so they were in attack mode most of the night.
They just didn’t give New Jersey an honest chance to get anything done. New Jersey’s 10th shot of the game didn’t come until there were three minutes left in the second period.
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“(New Jersey) had four power plays, too, and I thought our penalty kill was great,” said Pickard. “And five on five we didn’t give up a ton. A couple of saves early got me into it.”
And, when the time came, Pickard more than held up his end of the bargain, keeping New Jersey at bay in the third period when the Devils were desperate and pressing and Edmonton strayed a bit from its defensive resolve. He stopped 14 of 15 shots in the final 20 minutes to earn first star honours.
“I thought he was really, really good,” said Knoblauch. “We had some cracks in the third period, especially after we made it 3-0, and that’s where he really shone and played very solid.”
It was only Pickard’s 15th NHL game since 2019 and his first win since January 2022 against Pittsburgh while with the Detroit Red Wings. So, yeah it was special.
“I know I can play in this league,” he said. “I know I haven’t had a ton of opportunities but this is a good game for me to build off of and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.
“You’re obviously looking for that opportunity (to play in the NHL). It hasn’t happened much in the last year and a half but we’ve had some really good practice time and I feel good about my game. This is going to add to that confidence.”
Being able to turn in that kind of tight, responsible hockey in support of Pickard is another in a growing list of positive signs from an Oilers team that was hopeless in its own end to start the season.
“I don’t think anyone’s gone through a seven-game winning streak without good goaltending,” said Knoblauch. “Your special teams have to be good and I think each night we’ve won the special teams battle, or at least tied it. And the goaltending has been really rock solid.”
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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2023-12-11 01:27:05Z
CBMiZGh0dHBzOi8vZWRtb250b25qb3VybmFsLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvY2luZGVyZWxsYS1idXJucy1kZXZpbHMtYXMtZWRtb250b24tb2lsZXJzLW1ha2UtaXQtc2V2ZW4taW4tYS1yb3fSAQA
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