Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch faced a challenging decision on Friday (April 25) about who to start between the pipes for Game 3 of Edmonton’s first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings. But as it turns out, that was a walk in the park compared to the goaltending question he now faces. All of Oil Country has an opinion on whether Calvin Pickard or Stuart Skinner should get the nod for Game 4 on Sunday (April 27), after watching the former backstop Edmonton to a 7-4 victory over the Kings at Rogers Place on Friday. Making his first start this postseason, Pickard saved 24 of the 28 in Game 3 as Edmonton won to cut L.A.’s lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1. Related: Oilers Complete Third Period Comeback in Wild 7-4 Victory Over Kings in Game 3 With Edmonton facing the prospect of a 3-0 series deficit, Knoblauch put his faith in Pickard on Friday. While Skinner is Edmonton’s No. 1 netminder, the 26-year-old was coming off a pair of losses at Crypto.com Arena, where he was blitzed for 11 goals on 58 shots combined in Games 1 and 2. Giving the start to Pickard was a gutsy move by Knoblauch, but Friday’s result says it was the right one. Now, Edmonton’s coach must make an even tougher choice, about which goalie to play in Game 4. Solid but Unspectacular Outing from Pickard There’s one school of thought in hockey that a team should ride the hot hand. But in Edmonton’s case, the hand is more lukewarm than it is scalding. While Pickard picked up the win on Friday, it wasn’t necessarily via a standout performance. He gave up a very questionable goal to Trevor Moore at 17:28 of the second period, allowing Los Angeles to retake the lead only nine seconds after Connor Brown had scored for Edmonton to tie the game at 3-3. It was even suggested during the second intermission panel on Sportsnet that Knoblauch should turn to Skinner for the third period. To his credit, Pickard came up with a couple of big saves late in the game, including robbing Anze Kopitar with 15 seconds left while Edmonton was leading 6-4. The 33-year-old Pickard stopped all eight shots he faced in the final frame, as Los Angeles went scoreless in a period for the first time this series. Skinner Not Playing at High Level Another school of thought is that you ride or die with your No. 1, but Skinner hasn’t consistently played at the calibre of quality starter for much of 2024-25. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers) Among the 30 NHL goalies to appear in at least 40 games this season, Skinner ranked 20th with a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.81 and tied for 24th with a save percentage (SV%) of .896. Skinner’s numbers, in fact, were inferior to those of Pickard, who posted a 2.71 GAA and .900 SV% over 36 games in 2024-25. Skinner, however, has proven he can get the Oilers to where they want to go. It was, after all, only one year ago that he backstopped Edmonton to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. By retracing Edmonton’s path to the championship series in 2024, Knoblauch’s next move might be revealed. Familiar Scenario for Oilers In the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Skinner hit a bump in the road during Edmonton’s second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks. Over the first three games, he allowed 12 goals on 58 shots as Edmonton fell behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. With Edmonton facing the prospect of a 3-1 series deficit, Knoblauch turned to Pickard for Game 4 against the Canucks. It was Pickard’s first career playoff start, but he played just good enough for Edmonton to prevail, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a 3-2 victory as Edmonton evened the series. Knoblauch stuck with Pickard for Game 5. Then, after Edmonton lost 3-2, despite a pretty good showing by Pickard, who stopped 32 shots, the coach went back to Skinner for Game 6, and the rest is history. Skinner made every start for the remainder of the postseason, up to and including Game 7 of the championship final against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise. History Suggests Pickard Starts Game 4 Pickard has performed admirably in a backup role for Edmonton the last two seasons, but there’s a reason he has been the second-stringer for almost all of his NHL career. Skinner is the better goalie, but lacks the consistency of elite netminders who can singularly carry their team to the Stanley Cup. Last year showed that Skinner isn’t a goalie who gets rattled by being benched, but rather benefits from the opportunity of a reset. There are valid points to be made both in favour of sticking with Pickard or returning to Skinner for Game 4. But if the past is any indication, Pickard will be the man in the crease for Edmonton when the puck drops on Game 4 at Rogers Place on Sunday evening.