The Edmonton Oilers seem to have two reliable goaltenders at the moment in Tristan Jarry of Surrey, British Columbia and Connor Ingram of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Now the question is what will the Oilers do with Calvin Pickard, who was the Oilers 1B goaltender to start the season, but has now dropped down to third on the depth chart?
The Oilers will be making a decision soon. We just do not know exactly when. The Oilers acquired Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the blockbuster deal on December 12. However, Jarry was not with the Oilers long (two and a half games) before being placed on injury reserve with a lower body injury. It was at this time that the Oilers called up Ingram from the American Hockey League. The call-up was a little questionable because of how much Ingram struggled in the minors this past season with the Bakersfield Condors. After 11 games, Ingram was 4-5-2 with a 4.04 goals against average and .856 save percentage.
Those close to the Oilers did not seem too concerned with Ingram’s play. The reason is because the Condors’s defense has collectively not been strong this season. There was anticipation and hope that the Oilers would see a return of Ingram’s success during his days with Arizona in Edmonton. It appears Oilers fans got their wish. After nine games, Ingram has a record of five wins, three regulation losses and one loss in extra time with a goals against average of 2.22 and a save percentage of .917.
Over the last four NHL games, the Oilers goaltending has been particularly strong. As a unit (two games played by Jarry and two games played by Ingram), the Oilers have only given up three goals despite the fact they only have a record of two wins and two losses. In six games since being traded from the Oilers, Jarry has a record of 4-1-1 with a goals against average of 2.48, save percentage of .904 and one shutout.
Jarry and Ingram have a unique similarity. That is they were tied for the NHL lead in shutouts during the 2023-24 NHL season. Jarry was with the Penguins and Ingram was with the Coyotes. Ingram and Jarry were tied with Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers and Charlie Lindgren of the Washington Capitals.
Expect Pickard to be traded instead of being sent down to Bakersfield. This season he has a record of 5-6-2 with a goals against average of 3.68 and a save percentage of .871.
