EDMONTON — There is a school of thought that wonders if Connor Ingram, whose mental health journey took him through the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program not long ago, can handle the pressure of being a starting goalie in a Canadian market with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.

Then there’s this way of thinking, from a veteran teammate we’ll not name: “He’s been through a lot of s--t and he’s come through it just fine.”

That player suggests that walking out of the tunnel into a playoff madhouse in Edmonton Monday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet , 8 p.m. MT / 10 p.m. ET) is nothing compared with to what Ingram has already managed in his life.

“I have OCD. It's not something where you just take a pill and it goes away,” Ingram said on Sunday, one day before his first playoff start since 2022 with the Nashville Predators. “It's manageable, for sure, I'm in a way better place than I was for 90 per cent of my life before this, and I have the tools to deal with. I know when it's coming.”

There’s a tonne of pressure that comes with Ingram’s gig, of course. But what makes Ingram’s battle even more intriguing is, it’s the gig that keeps his obsessive-compulsive disorder in check.

You think he feels the pressure? Try living along in a hotel room through COVID, a scenario that was waaaay more difficult for Ingram than what he’s about to........

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