"Learn from the mistakes": Skinner shoulders blame day after Oilers loss
It was not the usual morning media availability for Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner a day after he was pulled in a disappointing 4-3 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3.
The story of the game was goaltending on both sides of the ice, as the Canucks got an otherworldly 42-save performance from third-stringer Arturs Silovs while Skinner floundered in the Oilers net, allowing four goals on 15 shots and getting pulled after 40 minutes.
For one reason or another, the sophomore goaltender was not made available to the media after the game, something that he immediately addressed on Monday morning.
“Just on record, I’d like to apologize to all [the media] for not being available last night,” Skinner started his scrum in the Oilers dressing room. “I think just the emotions kind of caught up with me, and it was tough mentally.
“Obviously, you never want to get pulled out of a game. Feel like you let down the team. I’ve got some work to do here, to get back at it and learn from the mistakes that I’ve been making.”
"I’ve got some work to do here to get back at it & learn from the mistakes."
Skinner speaks with the media at @RogersPlace. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/sdgsoEfvi9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 13, 2024
It’s been a series to forget for the 25-year-old goaltender and one that has now put the question of who will start in net for Edmonton in Game 4 into the forefront. Goaltending controversies just never seem to leave the Alberta capital.
For Skinner, it’s not a matter of technical mistakes. He told the scrum of reporters that he believes he is very close to playing his ideal game but that there are some mental hurdles that he needs to overcome.
“As a goaltender, I think it’s at least 90% more mental,” Skinner explained. “I think physically there are some little adjustments I can make, but to be super honest, I don’t think it’s anything technical.
“I think it’s just me being able to find saves at key times and I haven’t been able to do that.”
Yet, in playoff hockey, starting goaltenders are expected to perform no matter the situation. There have been some tough bounces and hard shots, and Skinner’s job is to get in the way of those.
He knows that better than anybody.
“It’s playoffs, it’s a grind, guys are in front, it’s hard to see the puck,” Skinner said. “There’s a couple of Grade-A chances, I mean, that’s just playoff hockey. I’ve been able to play really well in games like that for a long time, so no excuses on that end.”
Skinner admitted that he doesn’t know if he will get the start for the Oilers tomorrow night, and head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t add any clarity to the situation, saying a decision on that will be revealed on Tuesday morning.
The rest of the team still believes in Skinner’s ability to bounce back. Oilers captain Connor McDavid gave his starting goaltender a vote of confidence this morning.
“We got all the faith in the world [in Skinner],” McDavid told reporters. “Stu’s always bounced back well… I would expect Stu and our group to respond.”
Skinner has been known to stay mellow when the heat gets high in Edmonton and has disregarded statistics before with his infamous “numbers lie” moment from near the beginning of the season.
The stats, again, don’t look upon the sophomore goaltender favourably in this series with 12 goals against and a sub-.800 save percentage in three games. He admitted that those numbers have been indicative of how he’s played but he isn’t letting them dictate his mindset.
“Do I feel like I’m playing at those numbers? A little bit,” Skinner admitted. “Have some good goals gone in? Yeah. Have some bad goals gone in? Yes. Either way, I just gotta stick with it and just keep going.”
One thing is for certain, Skinner will be back between the pipes at some point in this series. Whether that is tomorrow night for Game 4 or back in Vancouver on Thursday night for Game 5, he’ll have a chance to redeem himself.
We’ll see how it shakes out soon enough.
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