Tristan Jarry came out of Thursday's game between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins with an injury. It was just his third start with the Oilers. While it's too soon to know the severity of the injury that forced Calvin Pickard to finish the game and lead the Oilers to a 3-1 win, the Jarry concern is exactly the kind of thing the organization didn't need.
Jarry knew something wasn't right after sliding across the crease in the second period and immediately skating to the bench.
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"Right away, when he made that push across, it didn't look good, so I figured I'd be going in there," said Pickard. He added, "You don't have much time to think about it, you just get out there and go play. It was a good win." Minutes later, head coach Kris Knoblauch said he had no update, other than to say that he isn’t yet sure how serious it is.
If lost for any length of time, the Oilers have a real problem.
Edmonton traded Stuart Skinner, knowing that Jarry was coming off some time missed. It's not fair to call Jarry injury-prone -- he's missed only 33 games in 10 seasons -- but betting this season and the next two on a player where part of the narrative was his health meant that an absence would be problematic.
The Oilers don't necessarily have the assets for the money -- unless Jarry winds up on LTIR -- to go get another goalie. They've been linked of late to Alex Lyon of the Buffalo Sabres, but there's nothing definitive there. The other options are to go with one of Connor Ingram or Matt Tomkins from the AHL. Neither has put up encouraging numbers.
The good news is, the Oilers have won 3 of 4 on this current road trip. They've played well (sans a game against the Montreal Canadiens). This win over the Bruins was as solid as they've looked and Pickard was excellent in the final 24 minutes of relief duty.
Connor McDavid remains on fire, posting a goal and an assist (22 points in his last eight games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins continues to play well. He also had a goal and an assist. Finally, Quinn Hutson scored his first NHL goal, despite limited minutes.
The Oilers flew to Minnesota following Thursday's game and will get set for a matinee matchup on Saturday. Edmonton appears to have found a bit of a rhythm and the hope is that they'll be able to weather this storm, Pickard finds his game, and the Jarry injury isn't long-term.
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