The Edmonton Oilers’s remarkable winning streak now is at 15 games, and a major reason why was the outstanding play of goaltender Calvin Pickard of Moncton, New Brunswick. On Thursday, Pickard made 27 saves as the Oilers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
Pickard made seven saves in the first period, 12 saves in the second period, and eight saves in the third period. MacKenzie Entwistle of Georgetown, Ontario, Taylor Raddysh of Caledon, Ontario, and Reese Johnson of Regina, Saskatchewan had four shots on goal each to lead Chicago. Pickard’s most notable save was on a penalty shot off the stick of Entwistle.
For Pickard, this was his fifth career shutout. He previously blanked the New Jersey Devils 3-0 while with the Colorado Avalanche on January 14, 2016, blanked the Minnesota Wild 1-0 while with the Avalanche on November 5, 2016, blanked the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 while with the Avalanche on February 7, 2017, and blanked the New York Rangers 4-0 while with the Philadelphia Flyers on November 23, 2018.
In the Oilers win on Thursday, Connor McDavid of Richmond Hill, Ontario had a three point game, as he had two goals and one assist. Meanwhile, Zach Hyman of Toronto, Ontario also scored for Edmonton.
In seven games this season, Pickard has a record of five wins and two losses with a goals against average of 2.34 and a save percentage of .915. The Oilers are now at 28 wins, 15 regulation losses and one loss in extra time for 57 points. They are in third place in the Pacific Division.
