{
  "id": 18439176,
  "title": "Oilers first NHL team to dress a full-time emergency backup goalie",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/oilers-first-nhl-team-to-dress-a-full-time-emergency-backup-goalie",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-06T04:27:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/2026/11/05/oilers-first-nhl-team-to-dress-a-full-time-emergency-backup-goalie"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Edmonton Oilers made history by becoming the first NHL team to officially dress a full-time emergency backup goalie for their game against Anaheim on Thursday night. Brett Epp donned the uniform while Matt Tomkins started as the fourth-string goalie. Tristan Jarry was absent due to illness, and Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen are currently injured. This is the first season in which NHL teams have been mandated to have Emergency Back-Up Goalies (EBUGs) on their rosters. The EBUGs, wearing No. 00, are required to have played 80 games or fewer in their professional careers and cannot have been on a standard NHL contract or suited up professionally in the three campaigns prior to the current one. In previous seasons, the home team was responsible for providing an EBUG if either side faced a goaltending injury or illness during a game.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Edmonton Oilers became first NHL team to dress full-time emergency backup goalie.",
    "Brett Epp suited up as emergency backup goalie for Anaheim game.",
    "NHL mandates EBUGs for all teams, with specific eligibility requirements."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Mandating rostered emergency goaltenders shifts the responsibility of injury coverage from home teams to individual clubs under a new league-wide regulatory framework for player safety and game continuity.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}