Pickard was on his way to being an NHL goaltender. It took most of three seasons with the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters, but Pickard broke through during the 2014-15 season with the Colorado Avalanche — the team that drafted him the second round in 2010.

Calvin Pickard got into 23 games with the Oilers in 2023-24, but his 31 starts this season were the most since his last season with Colorado.

But it’s hard not to look at the series and see Pickard as the common denominator when it comes to the Oilers’ reversal of fortunes. He didn’t just come in and make saves, he absolutely saved this series for an Edmonton crew hellbent on returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row.