Oilers get a boost from Pickard, players returning from injury to reach second round against Vegas

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Calvin Pickard, the lone goaltender with a 4-0 record, is among the surprises emerging from the first round of NHL playoffs and Edmonton Oilers fans are likely grateful for it.

The 33-year-old Pickard stepped in for Stuart Skinner when the Oilers were down 2-0 in their series with the Los Angeles Kings. Edmonton won four straight to close out the series Thursday night at home.

“It means a lot,” Pickard said. “Coming in Game 3, you don’t want to chase results. You just want to go out and do your job.”

Next up is a second-round series against Vegas, which is coming off a six-game win over Minnesota. Edmonton and Vegas split their four regular-season meetings. They last met in the postseason in 2023 when the Knights eliminated the Oilers in six games in the second round on the way to winning the Stanley Cup.

“For the series against Vegas, there’s a team that plays quite a bit different style than L.A. with their systems and the type of personnel that they have,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It’s going to give us a whole new challenge.”

The Oilers’ special teams, so crucial in last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, picked up against the Kings. Edmonton held the Kings to two goals on nine power-play chances and went 6-for-9 in the four victories. Getting some skaters back in the regular mix following injuries was key.

“There were a lot of guys that came in that weren’t in the picture going into the playoffs,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “You could see some of the chemistry with the lines and guys playing together. That came as the series went on.”

The return of Evander Kane and defenseman John Klingberg in Game 2 was pivotal. Kane had two goals and an assist in the series, but also gives Knoblauch more freedom to deploy Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a line together.

“It certainly helps our team the way Evander is playing, and it gives us a lot more options,” Knoblauch said.

McDavid and Draisaitl still had their fingerprints all over the series as the captain contributed two goals and nine assists, and Draisaitl’s three goals and seven assists included an overtime winner in Game 4.

“You need everybody feeling good about themselves, and everybody should,” McDavid said. “We had different guys step up at different times throughout the series, and everybody should feel good and proud of that, and ready to carry that into another tough opponent.”

Pickard will be ready to start if that’s the decision.

“My evaluation is we’ve got two really good goalies that we have confidence in,” said Knoblauch. “Either one of them can go in the nets and we’ll see how they’re playing. We’ve got a lot of confidence in Picks right now because of what he has done. He’s won four games in a row, but if we need to change, we’ve got a great second option.”

Pickard’s career was on a downward trajectory after playing 50 games for the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17. He started just 19 games over the next six seasons for Toronto, Philadelphia, Arizona and Detroit, but spent the majority of those years in the minors.

When he signed with the Oilers in 2022, he spent that season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

“I never stopped believing in myself,” Pickard said. “If you’re not believing in yourself, you’re not going to be successful. I played some good hockey in those years since I played 50 games in Colorado. I was always building that game and that confidence to get back to this level.”

Pickard went 1-1 in the first playoff starts of his career. He replaced Skinner for a pair of games in last year’s second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.

“I was never doubtful to throw him in because we kind of ripped the Band-Aid off last year,” Knoblauch said. “Put him in a very stressful, almost a must-win game against Vancouver and he responded tremendously and gave us a lot of confidence. This year, it was a lot easier to give him the net.”

Pickard's 31 starts this season were the most since his last season with Colorado. His record was 22-10-1 with a .900 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.71. He started eight of Edmonton’s final 11 games of the regular season after Skinner was injured March 26.

“It was good to get into a rhythm towards the end of the season there with Skins’s injury. I was playing really good hockey. It was probably my best hockey of the year heading into playoffs," he said. “I was ready if called upon and I was called upon pretty early. I just want to keep it going.”

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill watches the play during the first period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a power play goal during the first period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) battles in the corner against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) celebrates the win with teammates over the Los Angeles Kings during NHL playoff action in Edmonton on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard (30) celebrates the win over the Los Angeles Kings during NHL playoff action in Edmonton on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills fans arrived early and lingered long after the game ended to bid what could be farewell to their long-time home stadium filled with 53 years of memories — and often piles of snow.

After singing along together to The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” in the closing minutes of a 35-8 victory against the New York Jets, most everyone in the crowd of 70,944 remained in their seats to bask in the glow of fireworks as Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World” played over the stadium speakers.

Several players stopped in the end zone to watch a retrospective video, with the Buffalo-based Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” as the soundtrack while fans recorded selfie videos of the celebratory scene. Offensive lineman Alec Anderson even jumped into the crowd to pose for pictures before leaving the field.

With the Bills (12-5), the AFC's 6th seed, opening the playoffs at Jacksonville in the wild-card round next week, there's but a slim chance they'll play at their old home again. Next season, Buffalo is set to move into its new $1.2 billion facility being built across the street.

The farewell game evoked “a lifetime of memories,” said Therese Forton-Barnes, selected the team’s Fan of the Year, before the Bills kicked of their regular-season finale. “In our culture that we know and love, we can bond together from that experience. Our love for this team, our love for this city, have branched from those roots.”

Forton-Barnes, a past president of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, attended Bills games as a child at the old War Memorial Stadium in downtown Buffalo, colloquially known as “The Rockpile.” She has been a season ticket holder since Jim Kelly joined the Bills in 1986 at what was then Rich Stadium, later renamed for the team’s founding owner Ralph Wilson, and then corporate sponsors New Era and Highmark.

“I’ve been to over 350 games,” she said. “Today we’re here to cherish and celebrate the past, present and future. We have so many memories that you can’t erase at Rich Stadium, The Ralph, and now Highmark. Forever we will hold these memories when we move across the street.”

There was a celebratory mood to the day, with fans arriving early. Cars lined Abbott Road some 90 minutes before the stadium lots opened for a game the Bills rested most of their starters, with a brisk wind blowing in off of nearby Lake Erie and with temperatures dipping into the low 20s.

And most were in their seats when Bills owner Terry Pegula thanked fans and stadium workers in a pregame address.

With Buffalo leading 21-0 at halftime, many fans stayed in their seats as Kelly and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed addressed them from the field, and the team played a video message from 100-year-old Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy.

“The fans have been unbelievable,” said Jack Hofstetter, a ticket-taker since the stadium opened in 1973 who was presented with Super Bowl tickets before Sunday’s game by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. “I was a kid making 8 bucks a game back in those days. I got to see all the sports, ushering in the stadium and taking tickets later on. All the memories, it’s been fantastic.”

Bud Light commemorated the stadium finale and Bills fan culture with the release of a special-edition beer brewed with melted snow shoveled out of the stadium earlier this season.

In what has become a winter tradition at the stadium, fans were hired to clear the stands after a lake-effect storm dropped more than a foot of snow on the region this week.

The few remaining shovelers were still present clearing the pathways and end zone stands of snow some five hours before kickoff. The new stadium won’t require as many shovelers, with the field heated and with more than two-thirds of the 60,000-plus seats covered by a curved roof overhang.

Fears of fans rushing the field were abated with large contingent of security personnel and backed by New York State troopers began lining the field during the final 2-minute warning.

Fans stayed in the stands, singing along to the music, with many lingering to take one last glimpse inside the stadium where the scoreboard broadcast one last message:

“Thank You, Bills Mafia.”

AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) remains on the field to watch a tribute video after the Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Fans celebrate after the Buffalo Bills scored a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Fans celebrate and throw snow in the stands after an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Aga Deters, right, and her husband Fred Deters, walk near Highmark Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Michael Wygant shoves snow from a tunnel before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Alec Anderson (70) spikes the ball after running back Ty Johnson scored a touchdown against the New York Jets in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - The existing Highmark Stadium, foreground, frames the construction on the new Highmark Stadium, upper right, which is scheduled to open with the 2026 season, shown before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, Oct. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Salt crew member Jim Earl sprinkles salt in the upper deck before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)