Connor Ingram served as the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltender for the first three games of their Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks.
But with the higher-seeded Oilers trailing 2-1 in this best-of-seven set heading into Game 4 in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday night, might head coach Kris Knoblauch change goalies? Backup Tristan Jarry spent practice on Saturday in the net typically used by the next game’s starter, but Knoblauch said Saturday that wasn’t necessarily a tell.
“We haven’t decided,” Knoblauch said. “I think going in (to this series), we were pretty sure (about our No. 1). And it was the same thing last year, and maybe the year before. Today in the NHL, very rarely do you have one goalie play all the games in the playoffs.”
He continued: “Twenty years ago and before that, it was unheard-of to be swapping goalies. But we’ve got two good goalies. We feel confident they can both play. And going into the playoffs, we felt there was going to be a time where we’re going to have to make a switch at some time. Whether that’s for Game 4 or Game 5 or whatever it is, we have confidence in both of them.”
Ingram, 29, who posted a 16-10-3 record with a 2.60 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 32 regular-season games, has been less effective during the postseason. In the wake of Friday’s 7-4 win by the Ducks, Ingram has surrendered a league-high 14 goals and enters Game 4 with a 4.70 GAA and .849 save percentage.
Jarry, who turns 31 this week, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12. He fashioned a 9-6-2 record with a 3.86 GAA and .858 save percentage in 19 appearances for the Oilers. He has not started a game since April 7 — a 6-5 overtime loss at Utah — and has not played since handling the final 20 minutes on April 8 in a 5-2 win against San Jose.
If Jarry gets the Game 4 nod, it will mark his first Stanley Cup playoff appearance since a 4-3 overtime loss by the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers on May 15, 2022.
Jarry started eight postseason games for the Penguins from 2020-22 and produced a 2-6 record with a 3.00 GAA and .891 save percentage.
