Inside the locker room, that steady approach from Pickard translates to the rest of the group, and the Oilers players and coaches are grateful to have his veteran presence to lean on after he’s battled his way up the ladder to earn a vital start in the Stanley Cup Final with his team deadlocked in a 2-2 series.
“He’s a really popular guy in the room,” Evander Kane said. “You know, he’s got a great sense of humour. He keeps things light. He’s been doing this for a long time. He has a ton of experience. He’s been in a lot of different dressing rooms, and that can also help you along the way when you do come into different teams, making a little bit of an easier transition. Ever since he arrived and I arrived, he’s been fantastic. Now, you’re just seeing that off-ice stuff translate onto the ice with his performances and how much he’s helped our group get us to where we are today. We definitely love playing in front of him.”
McDavid added: “He’s someone who’s just kind of stuck with it all the way and he’s been a true pro and a great person. “I think good people get rewarded, and he’s a good person and works as hard as I’ve ever seen a guy work, so he couldn’t be more deserving of the role and the opportunity he’s got.”
Coach Knoblauch will make one further change to his lineup by swapping out winger Kasperi Kapanen for Viktor Arvidsson to give the Oilers a fresher set of legs after having only one day between Games 4 & 5 to make the long trip back to Edmonton from Sunrise. Troy Stecher will stay in the lineup as Edmonton’s sixth defenceman over John Klingberg.
Arvidsson will skate on a line with Evander Kane and Mattias Janmark and had produced points in three straight games before Game 3 of the Final, bringing his playoff total up to two goals and five assists in 14 games this postseason.
“Viktor was pulled out and wasn’t in the lineup, but was that fair?” Knoblauch said. “We talked about how things are fair and not fair. But the privilege I have is having a lot of good hockey players and not being able to put them in the lineup. Here we have a fresh guy who didn’t play the previous game. Our team has travelled, and we feel that Viktor’s in a position to help us.
“Throughout the playoffs, he’s played really well. Just because of circumstances, whether we needed more physicality or more of a penalty kill guy, whatever it is, he was pulled out of the lineup. But Viktor’s an excellent hockey player and we feel that he’ll give us a good game tonight.”
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