Evan’s NHL Daily: Avalanche Draft Pick Saves The Day, Maurice’s Pep Talk

At one point in time, Calvin Pickard was supposed to be the goaltender of the future for the Colorado Avalanche. Drafted in the second round back in the 2010 NHL Draft, his future looked bright. After his first two seasons, where he played in 36 games, the numbers were stellar. Then, that 2016-17 season happened, and everything kind of took a turn.

Well, it’s been a long road back to the NHL, but on Tuesday night, the Edmonton Oilers turned to Pickard in a game they needed to win to even up the series. Almost 10 years after making his NHL debut, he delivered.

Out East, the Boston Bruins were able to tie their series up with the Florida Panthers, but the talk of the town was Paul Maurice’s, uh, pep talk to his team that got them going for a little bit.

Colorado practiced before heading to Dallas, and Nathan MacKinnon was blunt about how he played in Game Four. Some have asked about my thoughts on the Nichushkin situation, and I’m taking a few days to gather those thoughts. I think it’s okay to feel a lot of different emotions about the situation, because that’s human. I know I’ve got a few, and I’ll write them down in the coming days.

I’m currently sitting at the airport ready to board another flight to Dallas for Game Five. Is this the last road trip of the season? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Thank you for all the support through the playoffs!

Colorado Hockey Now

A look back at Game Four, where the Avalanche no-showed the first period and didn’t get much from Cale Makar.

If you didn’t think Nathan MacKinnon played well in Game Four, guess what? He agrees with you.

Pickard Saves The Day

It took almost 10 years and more than a handful of NHL teams, but Calvin Pickard got his first playoff start on Tuesday night. I don’t think that will be his last.

Pickard stopped 19 of the 21 shots the Vancouver Canucks sent his way, helping the Oilers come away with the 3-2 win to tie the series up at two. The former Avalanche draft pick, who was a very popular guy in the locker room, has spent a large portion of the last decade playing in the AHL, so for him to come up and save the day in an NHL playoff game is a big story. Congratulations to him. The Oilers weren’t getting a lot of help from Stuart Skinner, so I can’t imagine they take Pickard out of the net now.

PICK 😤 CITY 😤 pic.twitter.com/ZA2k7qwdh6

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 15, 2024

Maurice Lets Expletives Fly

Sometimes, an NHL coach just needs to not overthink it and let it rip. That’s what Paul Maurice did on Tuesday night, giving his team a pep talk before they went out and scored a goal. Maurice described his pep talk after the game.

#TimeToHunt coach Paul Maurice on his pep talk: “I thought they needed some profanity in their life, and I brought some … fuck me, am I good at that?”pic.twitter.com/eUIYIxpHiW

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) May 15, 2024

Unfortunately for the Panthers, that wasn’t enough, as Jeremy Swayman made a bit stop at the buzzer to give the Bruins the win. The series will now head back to Boston, who need another win to stay alive this postseason.

National Hockey Now

Some potential young NHL Trade targets for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Marc Bergevin is being considered for another NHL GM job.

Remember Kiefer Sherwood? He had a bit of a breakout year in Nashville, and may have earned himself another contract.

He returned to the KHL last year mid-season, but Ilya Kovalchuk is apparently ready to hang up the skates.