The Edmonton Oilers have finally found a goaltending duo. That’s how it appears, at least, as Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram have taken over the top two spots, while Calvin Pickard has been converted into a third-string role and could be traded or placed on waivers any day.
Ingram has appeared in nine games so far for the Oilers, where he’s impressed with a 2.22 goals against average (GAA) along with a .917 save percentage (SV%). Aside from a rough start on Thursday night that severely impacted his numbers, Jarry has also been relatively solid. Overall, they are getting far better goaltending than they had earlier in the season with Pickard and Stuart Skinner.
It’s been a long time since the Oilers have had one goalie they could consistently rely on, let alone two. In fact, the last netminder to give them consistently solid goaltending was Cam Talbot dating all the way back to the 2016-17 season. Suffice to say, this current duo has been a breath of fresh air. That said, it may not be as reliable of a tandem as many are believing it to be at this time.
Both Goalies Have Had Ups and Downs
Let’s start with Jarry, who the Oilers acquired in a December trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Though Ingram has been the better of the two so far, it’s still presumed that if the playoffs were to start today, Jarry would be in between the pipes.
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At times in his career, Jarry has been an above-average starting goalie. That said, there have been plenty of valleys as well. Take last season, for example, where the 30-year-old was placed on waivers and wound up going unclaimed. He wound up appearing in 36 games in 2024-25 for the Pens, posting a disappointing 3.09 GAA along with a .893 SV%.
Then, there’s playoff experience, which Jarry doesn’t have much of. The 6-foot-4 netminder has appeared in just eight postseason games at the NHL level, six of them coming during the 2020-21 campaign. Though the sample size is limited, he struggled immensely that year, compiling a 3.18 GAA and a .888 SV%.
As for Ingram, he’s even more of a wild card. The 28-year-old had his coming out party during the 2023-23 season, where he appeared in a career-high 50 games for the Arizona Coyotes, putting up a 2.91 GAA and a .907 SV%. Things fell off quickly the next season, and wound up seeing him spend a brief period of time in the American Hockey League (AHL).
After being acquired from the Utah Mammoth ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Oilers elected to send Ingram to the AHL in hopes of seeing what he could provide. The results were terrible, as he had a disastrous .856 SV% in 11 games. Nonetheless, he was recalled, and has fared much better at the NHL level.
Much like Jarry, however, Ingram is very inexperienced in the postseason. He’s suited up for just four playoff games during his NHL career, all of which came with the Nashville Predators during the 2021-22 season.
Goaltending Remains a Question Mark
Though fans in Edmonton are happy with their current goaltending duo, a few more starts like we saw from Jarry on Thursday night could have them thinking otherwise. After all, Jarry was lambasted by Penguins fans for being far too inconsistent, which Oilers fans often criticized Skinner for. As for Ingram, it’s difficult to feel overly confident given his ups and downs throughout his professional career.
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Given that the Oilers are quite limited in terms of salary cap space, it’s expected that they will continue forward with this duo in hopes of going on a lengthy playoff run. That said, the margin for error is razor thin. If either, or perhaps both struggle in the postseason, the Oilers may very well be looking to upgrade their goaltending once again this summer.
