"I was pissed off": Oilers' Skinner apologized to Campbell for Game 4 start

Apr 25 2023, 8:35 pm

The Edmonton Oilers are offering goaltender Stuart Skinner a shot at redemption in a crucial Game 5 matchup tonight.

In Sunday’s Game 4 contest — an eventual 5-4 overtime win for the Oilers — Skinner was yanked for Jack Campbell after 20 minutes by head coach Jay Woodcroft after allowing three first-period goals on just 11 shots and Edmonton down 3-0.

“The previous game for me, specifically, obviously didn’t go the way that I wanted it to go. But the team ended up getting the win, which is all that matters,” Skinner told reporters today.

And Skinner admitted that his emotions may have gotten the best of him after being lit up for a trio of opening-frame goals.

“I was a little pissed off in the first period. After that I was you know, I was able to calm down… it was just nice to see what Jack was doing,” he added.

Throwing Campbell into his first action of the series went about as well as any Oilers fan could’ve hoped: he made 27 of 28 stops and picked up an overtime victory on the night as Edmonton clawed all the way back for an overtime win to even the series at 2-2.

“I apologized to Jack for, for doing that to him. I mean, it’s always, you know, it’s you never get put in a great spot when you go in cold. So he did a great job,” Skinner added. “[He was] unbelievable. He was stellar. He made some huge saves.”

Woodcroft was also full of praise for Campbell’s ability to step in and help the Oilers secure a key comeback win.

“I have belief in both of our goaltenders. That’s not assigning any blame on Stuart for the way the first period went, but I felt our team needed a little change in momentum and give us a different kind of look,” Woodcroft said following Game 4

Skinner was officially named the starter earlier today for tonight’s matchup, as the fifth game of the series is set for Tuesday in Edmonton at 7:30 pm MT.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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