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Concussion spotter made the call to yank Stuart Skinner from Edmonton Oilers' net

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Mar 21 2025, 4:44 pm
Concussion spotter made the call to yank Stuart Skinner from Edmonton Oilers' net
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner wasn’t wanting to exit last night’s game versus the Winnipeg Jets.

The Oilers netminder was forced to leave in the third period of last night’s outing after taking a bump in the crease from Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi. He immediately sprawled out on the ice and appeared to be grabbing at his head. His reaction to the play resulted in him being taken out by the concussion spotter, despite the fact that he wanted to remain in the game.

“That wouldn’t have been me. And Skinner obviously did not want to come out,” Head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It was the spotter.”

“It’s a bump. I don’t know if it’s that hard of a bump. I think maybe Skinner’s trying to sell this a little bit. Certainly a push from [Troy] Stecher,” said Oilers colour commentator Louie DeBrusk. “There’s a slight contact to the head, but he was not happy going down the tunnel, I can tell you that.”

Though he hasn’t had the best season to date with a 2.85 GAA along with a .896 save per cent, losing Skinner for any period of time wouldn’t be great news for the Oilers. Should he remain out, they’ll hand things to Calvin Pickard, who has slightly better numbers with a 2.63 GAA and a .901 save per cent, albeit in far fewer appearances.

Skinner’s potential injury is one of many for the Oilers. They were forced to play without Leon Draisaitl last night and lost Connor McDavid partway through the outing after the 28-year-old took a cross-check from Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey. Both are expected to have imaging done later today.

The Oilers have the day off today but will be back in action tomorrow night, and could potentially be without all three mentioned, all while Trent Frederic and John Klingberg also continue to remain sidelined.

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