Oilers need to get more from Skinner in the playoffs
The NHL Playoffs are in full swing again, which can only mean one thing: questions about the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending situation.
This is now the third straight season where goaltending in the postseason has become an early question mark for the Oilers. In 2022, it was Mike Smith making a costly turnover in Game 1 and last season it was a less-than-stellar outing in Stuart Skinner’s first taste of the playoffs.
After allowing nine goals in the first two games of the team’s opening-round series against the LA Kings, Skinner finds himself the subject of that question once again.
A rocket from Kevin Fiala puts the Kings back on top 🚀 pic.twitter.com/5UYwlQPBm9
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024
This is Skinner’s second kick at the can at being a starting goaltender in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He debuted last season against this very same Kings team and wound up eliminating them in six games. That series, however, was not the smoothest of rides for the Edmonton native.
Skinner let in 19 goals throughout those six games and carried a 0.872 save percentage. He was pulled in Game 4 after allowing three goals in the first period. Things got a little better in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights, but he still only put up two games with a save percentage above .900 and got eliminated in six games.
That is not good enough for a team that wants to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Things haven’t exactly turned themselves around for the 25-year-old this time around either. He has a combined save percentage of .850 so far and, while some of the goals have been the result of bad luck bounces, he has not been able to make that extra save when the team has needed it.
Last night was a perfect example of that. The Oilers outplayed the Kings throughout the game and generated the bulk of chances. According to MoneyPuck, LA finished the game with just 2.34 expected goals while Edmonton had 3.28. That is a game the Oilers should win.
Skinner wound up letting in a few goals that he should have had. This is something he admitted after the game, specifically on Adrian Kempe’s first-period marker to open the scoring.
“Kempe made a nice shot, but that’s a shot I saw and I can stop a puck like that,” Skinner told reporters after the game. “You just gotta move forward.”
Adrian Kempe and the Kings strike first 👑 pic.twitter.com/GgDXEpYPcj
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024
Sometimes, not having the pucks go your way is just the luck of the draw. Skinner won’t be able to stop every errant bounce but, at the end of the day, he needs to find a way to get that extra stop no matter if it’s a bad bounce or not.
He has shown an ability to steal games in the Edmonton crease. His chill demeanour after games like this might confuse fans, but it is exactly the type of mindset he needs if he wants to rebound.
Skinner has what it takes to turn this around, and now is the perfect time to step up his game.
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