EDMONTON — Calvin Pickard stood tall in the crease, his glove snapping shut on a Warren Foegele breakaway like a bear trap in the wild. It was Game 6, second period, and the Edmonton Oilers clung to a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Kings. That save, one of 23 on the night, didn’t just preserve the score—it ignited the Rogers Place crowd and cemented Pickard’s improbable rise from AHL journeyman to playoff hero. On May 1, 2025, the Oilers clinched their first-round series 4-2, thanks to Pickard’s steely performance and a team that, as one player put it, “loves playing for him.”
Three years ago, when Pickard signed with Edmonton in 2022, he was pegged as minor-league depth, a guy who’d ride buses in Bakersfield while the big club chased glory. But fate, and a shaky Stuart Skinner, had other plans. After the Oilers dropped the first two games to the Kings, coach Kris Knoblauch rolled the dice on April 25, handing Pickard the net for Game 3. The 33-year-old, who’d played just 36 games this season—his most since his NHL debut a decade ago—delivered. He stopped 21 of 22 shots in a 4-3 win on April 29, tying the series. By Game 6, he was the guy.
Pickard’s no flashy showboat. He’s a lunch-pail goalie, all focus and grit, with a career that’s seen more AHL rinks than NHL spotlights. But in Game 6, he was lights-out. Foegele’s breakaway in the second period could’ve flipped the game, but Pickard’s glove said no. Later, he stoned a Kings power play, his pads slamming shut on a point-blank chance. The Oilers fed off it, with Connor Brown potting a goal and adding two assists, while the team’s penalty kill went a perfect 3-for-3. Final score: 4-3, Oilers.
Teammates don’t just respect Pickard—they rally for him. After the game, Brown, who’s had his own battles to stay in the lineup, spoke to reporters, sweat still dripping, about the goalie’s calm under fire. Knoblauch, meanwhile, praised Pickard’s knack for “big saves at key times,” a nod to his 25-save effort in a March 15 overtime win that showed he could handle pressure. By May 1, that trust was ironclad.
Pickard’s stat line in the series reads like a redemption arc: two starts, two wins, 44 saves on 49 shots. He’s not the Oilers’ future in net—Skinner’s still the guy—but he’s the present, the spark that turned a 0-2 deficit into a series win. As the Oilers gear up for the next round, Pickard’s role is clear: be ready. Because in Edmonton, where playoff dreams live or die on the edge of a blade, he’s proven he can steal a game when it counts.
The Oilers advanced to face the winner of the Vancouver Canucks-Nashville Predators series, with Game 1 set for early May. Pickard finished the regular season 16-7-0, with a .909 save percentage.