Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard started Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
The journeyman netminder was chosen to start the pivotal contest after he replaced Stuart Skinner during Edmonton's dramatic 5-4 overtime victory in Game 4.
"It wasn't an easy call," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said before the game. "We've got two good goaltenders. ... The deciding factor for us was, we won the previous game, and Picks made a lot of big saves."
Skinner got the hook Thursday after allowing three goals on 17 shots in the first period. Pickard was solid in relief, turning aside 22 of 23 shots, and he drew praise from his teammates after helping Edmonton pull off the wild win.
Pickard is a perfect 7-0 in these playoffs.
"It's exciting," he said of starting Game 5. "A good opportunity for me, obviously. ... The building's going to be electric tonight. It's definitely going to be an exciting day."
He added: "I guess you could look at tonight as the biggest game of my life, but last game was the biggest game of my life until the next one. It's rinse and repeat for me. ... This is what you play for."
Pickard took over in the crease after Skinner struggled in the first two contests of the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings but was injured in Game 2 of the second round.
He also came in for Skinner in the third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final as the Oilers got waxed 6-1 by the Florida Panthers.
Pickard owns an .896 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average this postseason.
Forward Viktor Arvidsson replaced Kasperi Kapanen in the Oilers' Game 5 lineup.
Knoblauch opted to sit Arvidsson in Game 4, electing to play Jeff Skinner instead. The Swedish winger has chipped in with two goals and five assists in 14 outings this spring, and he's recorded a point in three of his last four games.
"We got a fresh guy (in Arvidsson) who didn't play the previous game, our team has traveled, and we feel that Viktor's in a position to help us," Knoblauch said. "Throughout the playoffs, he's played really well. ... We feel that he'll give us a good game tonight."
Kapanen, meanwhile, has logged three goals and six points in 11 contests. He played in the first four games against Florida, contributing with three assists.
