The Edmonton Oilers have spent much of this season trying to piece together their crease on the fly, but the situation is finally easing up.
Devon Levi came back from a groin injury on Saturday, Tristan Jarry is healthy again after missing Thursday’s game against Anaheim with an illness, and Frederik Andersen is still out with the injury he suffered in the offseason. For a team that entered training camp with three goaltenders and somehow ended up using four different netminders plus an emergency backup in just 10 games, that counts as progress.
Levi’s return was a big one. He had won six of his first seven starts before getting hurt against Carolina on Oct. 22, and he said he felt something go wrong in the third period even though he wasn’t thinking about leaving the game.
“I wasn't going to get out of that game unless I was dead,” Levi said.
That left Jarry to carry the load while Levi missed seven games, and he answered the call. The 31-year-old put together back-to-back shutouts against Calgary and the New York Islanders, then kept giving Edmonton steady work on its road trip through New York.
“With Dev hurt, I knew I'd get a little bit more work,” Jarry said following the Islanders game. “So just being able to take care of that opportunity and kind of just run with it… It's been fun, to say the least.”
The Oilers also got a strong outing from Matt Tomkins, who made 27 saves in a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The 32-year-old Edmonton native came into that game with only six NHL starts and no league appearances since April 2024.
Then Jarry got sick, and the crease picture got even stranger. Edmonton had to dress Tomkins and emergency backup Brett Epp against Anaheim on Thursday night because Andersen and Levi were both unavailable.
That probably wasn’t what Stan Bowman had in mind when he built this roster.
Levi returned Saturday against Vancouver and stopped 20 shots in Edmonton’s 4-2 win. Jarry was healthy enough to back him up, and Tomkins was sent back to Bakersfield. After the game, Levi talked about the kind of matchup he enjoys.
“It was a tight game,” Levi said afterward. “I love playing those games, going into the third period (tied) 1-1, knowing that I’m probably going to have to come up with one or two (big saves).
Love it, man. So it was a fun game.”
Jason Dickinson also praised Levi’s approach.
“He's got all the characteristics of a gamer,” Jason Dickinson said. “He fights hard, he battles hard, he's been itching to get back. It's definitely good for us to have him.”
Now Edmonton has two healthy goaltenders who have been playing well, and Andersen’s eventual return should only help. Jarry has played well enough to keep earning chances, Levi has won seven of eight games, and Andersen was supposed to be the starter to begin with.
Through 18 games, the Oilers are 12-3-3, and their goaltending has held together better than the injury list might suggest. Still, four goaltenders and an emergency backup before reaching 20 games is a little much.
Maybe somebody really should check for a curse.
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