REPORT: Oilers Calvin Pickard Now Out Longer

Calvin Pickard (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)

EDMONTON – Ruh-oh.

The injury surrounding the Edmonton Oilers and Calvin Pickard may have gone from bad to worse. 

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According to an NHL insider, the original diagnosis suggested that the veteran goalie was day-to-day with his injury, which may extend longer than expected. 

While appearing on Edmonton Sports Talk, Darren Dreger reported that, "I'm told it’ll probably be at least a week.”

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Bad News For The Oilers

This is (obviously) less than ideal for the Oilers. Pickard recorded six straight wins, leading the team past the Los Angeles Kings in round one, and giving them a 2-0 head start on the Vegas Golden Knights before going down with an injury. 

In the six games that he started, Pickard made big saves at key moments. The Oilers have played steadily all year with Pickard in the net.

Stuart Skinner's Time To Shine

It's now or never for Stuart Skinner. The Edmonton-born native returned to the net for Game 3. He performed admirably despite allowing four goals on 24 shots.

When speaking about Skinner’s performance after the game, head coach Kris Knoblauch offered his thoughts.

“It’s a tough situation,” Knoblauch said to reporters after Game 3. “I think he made some really big saves, especially early in the game (and) On the penalty kill.”

“I don’t think there’s any bad goals. We put him out in difficult situations to defend.”

The Oilers will need to batten down the hatches and attack the Golden Knights with full force to win their second-round series. With this new injury news, they need to band together and not default to their goaltender's play—no matter who is in the net.

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Former Canadiens Player Makes The Headlines For The Wrong Reason

Oct 3, 2018; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Domi (13) smiles as he talks to the official before taking a face-off against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Photo Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images

Less than a week ago, I wrote that two former Montreal Canadiens players had led the Toronto Maple Leafs in a big win against the Florida Panthers. Max Pacioretty and Max Domi played essential roles that night, notching a goal and an assist each.

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On Sunday night, however, as the Leafs were blanked 2-0 by the Cats, Toronto’s players were frustrated, which is normal. Nobody wants to be shut out, even less so when only managing 23 shots on goal.

Tempers can run high in the playoffs, but that’s no justification for Domi's hit on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov. The pivot faced the boards with the seconds trickling down on game four. There was nothing left to play for when the Leafs’ second-generation pest spotted him from far away and ran him from behind.

Barkov was propelled into the boards, head first, and understandably stayed down. Domi was assessed a five-minute major for boarding, but the game had already ended. There was no rhyme or reason to that hit at that stage of the game.

To those who will use the tried-and-tested line of “he was sending them a message for the next game,” I will reply that the only thing he did with this dangerous hit was to give the Panthers a big injection of motivation, as if they needed it.

On Florida’s bench, Matthew Tkachuk was talking with the Toronto bench, and with the wink he made, you know he’s put them on notice that there will be payback in game five.

The Leafs are a very talented team, but their big guns will always come second when it’s time to play a physical game. Targeting the Panthers' captain that way was a dangerous hit and a grave tactical error by the former Hab.

Regardless of whether the Department of Player Safety decides to examine the play and issue further discipline on Domi, he has put his team in a precarious position. He’s not the one who will be headhunted; Toronto’s top players will be. While the Leafs have a few big guns, one being injured wouldn’t do them any good as they finally try to win a second-round series.

It's a shame that Domi needs to make that kind of play; he’s a very good hockey player when he puts his mind to it. In the 153 games he played with the Canadiens, he scored 116 points, including a fantastic first season that yielded 72 points and 24 even-strength goals. That season wasn’t a fluke. The talent is there, but he needs to stop getting in his way.


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'Next Game's Going To Be A Fun One': Tension Grows Between Maple Leafs And Panthers

Bobby McMann and Dmitry Kulikov (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images)

Tempers flared at the end of Game 4 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers. 

In the dying seconds of the contest, Leafs center Max Domi hit Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov into the boards, which sparked a violent scrum. Domi received a major penalty for boarding.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported the NHL’s Department of Player Safety is looking into Domi’s hit, especially because it was delivered very late in the game. He added these “message sending plays” are an area of focus in the collective bargaining agreement.

LeBrun’s predicts Domi won’t receive a suspension, but a fine isn’t out of the question.

Panthers center Sam Bennett and coach Paul Maurice reacted to the hit. 

“Trying to take a run at ‘Barky’ at the end there,” Bennett told reporters. “It’s been a physical series, so I expect more of that.”

Added Maurice: “The league looks at those things very closely, especially at that point in the game.”

During the aftermath of the Domi hit, Panthers right winger Matthew Tkachuk appeared to mouth off to the Leafs bench, specifically at Toronto’s leading scorer, William Nylander.

Reporters asked Nylander about this post-game. 

“He’ll probably do whatever he can do to get a player off their game,” Nylander said. “Next game’s going to be a fun one.”

The Domi hit was just a snippet of what transpired throughout Game 4. There were plenty of hard hits and penalties during the contest.

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It started early in the game when the Maple Leafs handed the Panthers four power-play opportunities in the first period. Florida eventually capitalized on one of them, which was the only goal of the game until the third period.

“We don’t need to take those (penalties),” Leafs coach Craig Berube told reporters post-game. “Hookings and interference, we got to be better – we’ll be smarter than that.”

Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson took two minor penalties, including an interference penalty that sent Florida left winger Evan Rodrigues to the dressing room. Maurice said Rodrigues will need further evaluation before determining his status for the next game.

Panthers D-man Dmitry Kulikov also appeared to elbow Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner in the back of the head. There was no penalty on the play.

"To me, the Kulikov hit on Marner was 10 times worse," Berube said Monday morning.

Despite this being Toronto’s second straight loss of the series, its mindset is the same as it’s been all playoffs.

“(At) 2-2, it’s going to be a long series – that’s our mindset,” Nylander said.

Added Leafs captain Auston Matthews: “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We’re playing the defending Cup champs. They’re a good team. Both teams took care of home ice, so here we are.”

Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.

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