Clock ticking as Ingram, Pickard battle for Edmonton Oilers backup job

It’s game on.

Not just for the Edmonton Oilers against the Nashville Predators Tuesday night, but for Connor Ingram’s battle with Calvin Pickard, not to mention the clock.

Tristan Jarry’s return date keeps getting pushed back — first it was right after New Year’s, now it’s mid to late January — but Edmonton’s starting goalie is coming back eventually. And when he does, this town won’t be big enough for the three goalies.

Somebody will have to go.

“It will play itself out,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who’s been running two backups since Jarry went down midway through the Boston game on Dec. 18.

“Both goalies will have numerous starts before Jarry is back. He’s going to be a little while yet, so I don’t think we have to make a decision right now.”

Numerous is a subjective term, but it doesn’t mean indefinite. Ingram can play up to nine games (or less than 30 days) and be sent to the AHL without having to clear waivers, so unless he reaches out and grabs this thing by the throat, or Pickard falters badly, the odds favour Ingram being the odd man out.

The Oilers can’t risk losing Pickard on waivers when Jarry’s ability to stay healthy hasn’t passed any test of time in Edmonton so far. In a season that is only three months old, he’s already missed six weeks and counting with two injuries. Keeping Ingram in Bakersfield as insurance and keeping Pickard up with the big team is the pragmatic call.

But that doesn’t mean Ingram can’t shake things up a little. If he goes into star mode, maybe the decision goes a different way.

“It’s not my job,” he said of making the call on what to do with the goalies. “Why would I worry about it? I can’t make that decision. I just go out and play, and whatever happens after that happens. The sun is going to come out tomorrow.”

Indeed it is.

So where does it stand?

Ingram started three games in a row out of the gate, stopping 28 of 31 shots to beat Vegas (.903), stopping 18 of 19 in a win over Calgary (.947) and 29 of 32 in the post-Christmas loss to Calgary (.906).

Those were all positive signs that had some people suggesting the goalie issue was resolved, that Ingram and Jarry would be the two guys going forward, especially with Pickard 1-3-2 in his previous six decisions.

Then Pickard was a rock star in Winnipeg, stopping 41 of 42 shots (.976) to steal two points from the Jets, and Ingram let in six goals on 29 shots in the loss to Boston (.793), and everything hit pause.

“Overall (Ingram’s) starts have been pretty solid,” said Knoblauch. “One of his games was one of the better ones we’ve played defensively. Overall, he’s put in a pretty good showing. That one game, no, it wasn’t, but he’ll get to redeem himself.”

That’s the plan. Ingram, not to mention the Oilers, would like to see him bounce back fast. The goalie needs to re-establish himself as a contender for Edmonton’s stretch-drive backup position, and the Oilers need to put the brakes on the post-Christmas malaise that has them 1-3 in the last four games after the 9-3-1 in surge that lifted them into first place in the Pacific.

“That’s the good thing about this league,” said Ingram. “You don’t have time to think about it or dwell on it; we’re right back to work the next day.

“It’s like everything else, everyone is going to have good days and bad days, it’s just a matter of staying true to it and do the best you can.”

Pickard, meanwhile, had another strong night in Edmonton’s loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, keeping the Oilers afloat as long as he could on one of their worst games in a month. In his last four appearances, he has two losses, the first star night against Winnipeg, and he stopped 13 of 13 shots after coming in in relief of the injured Jarry Dec. 18.

Ingram is 2-2 in his last four appearances as well.

So it’s anybody’s game.

Goaltenders don’t compete against each other; they compete against opposition shooters, and they are often at the mercy of their team’s ability to manage the puck and play solid defence. In Edmonton’s case, that’s a hit or miss proposition. They totally shut down the Flames before Christmas, holding them to 19 mostly harmless shots, but they were on the ropes for long periods of time against Winnipeg, Boston and Philadelphia.

So that adds another layer to the intrigue. Which Oilers team is Ingram getting Tuesday night against Nashville? Which team will show up on Thursday when they head back to Winnipeg?

“It doesn’t matter who is in net, you have to be committed to the defensive game every day in this league,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “We have two really good goalies who’ve won us some games of late, so we want to play better defensively in front of them.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

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