Oilers quickly heading towards yet another goalie controversy
In many ways, the Edmonton Oilers are in a familiar position compared to last season.
Though the team’s current record of 6-6-1 is better than the 3-9-1 they had through the first 13 games last season, similar struggles are popping up once again.
Scoring goals has been an absolute struggle for this Oilers club, defensive mistakes are resulting in goals against, special teams have gone cold, and there is no consistent goaltending. That last bit is perhaps the most frustrating part of all.
After Stuart Skinner appeared to have figured things out in the playoffs last year, he currently holds a 3-4-1 record with a .881 save percentage and is seventh-last of all NHL goaltenders with a -3.7 goals-save-above-expected (GSAX).
#Oilers have had plenty of issues early on this season and it would be ignorant to not point out the goaltending.
Skinner:
.881 sv%
-3.7 GSAxPickard:
.886 sv%
-1.0 GSAxThe defence hasn't been great either, but NHL goalies need to make saves.
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) November 5, 2024
Through his eight starts this season, Skinner has nabbed half of the Oilers’ wins and five of the seven losses. Meanwhile, his backup, Calvin Pickard, has been outplaying him early on in the season, albeit just barely.
The 32-year-old Pickard has a 3-2-0 record through his first five starts and is just edging out Skinner with a .886 save percentage and -1.0 GSAE. These numbers, while technically better, aren’t all that encouraging for the Oilers as neither are putting in good enough performances to get Edmonton to where they want to be, which is another appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.
We saw the same thing happen with the Oilers last season, with Jack Campbell being overtaken (again) by Skinner. This time, however, there doesn’t appear to be savour waiting in the wings. Olivier Rodrigue would be the organization’s de-facto third-string, but he did not have a particularly impressive camp and it’s unlikely that the team would give a goalie with no NHL experience the reigns on a supposed cup contender.
With that in mind, Edmonton only has two supposed options with this latest goalie controversy. They can either explore the trade market for a new goalie, of which not many appear to be outwardly available, or they can simply ride with the duo that they have and hope for either one of Skinner or Pickard to take control of the crease.
It seems like the latter option would be the more likely one to take, and if it is, they will need to see a quick shift soon.