Skinner or Pickard? Oilers have a playoff goaltending decision to make
The Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending has officially been put into question after Stuart Skinner was pulled after two periods in their Game 3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
It has not been the type of playoff series that the sophomore goaltender would have envisioned after seemingly rediscovering his game in the last half of the first round against the LA Kings.
In his three games against the Canucks in the postseason, he has allowed 12 goals on 58 shots and has a sub-.800 save percentage in the process. That is far from an acceptable standard for a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations, and the question of whether the Oilers should go back to him in Game 4 is more than fair.
NIKITA ZADOROV IS THAT GUY pic.twitter.com/gh0NV6STxG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2024
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch would not commit to a starting goaltender for Tuesday night’s Game 4. He admitted that the team needed more saves out of Skinner and that he would be back between the pipes at some point, whether that be tomorrow night or in Game 5.
Calvin Pickard is the other option that Edmonton will have to consider for the job. The 32-year-old journeyman has had a decent year with Edmonton, putting up a 12-7-1 record and a .909 save percentage in the regular season. The 20 minutes he played last night were his first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and weren’t all that busy, stopping the three shots he faced all period.
That is still more than what could be said of Skinner last night. The Oilers outshot the Canucks 14-4 in the second period but Vancouver found the game-winner on one of those shots. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the margin for error in front of Skinner is close to zero at this point, with almost all of the team’s mistakes ending up in the back of the net.
Sweet footy skills, Elias! š®āšØ pic.twitter.com/tMYGZUG7pH
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 13, 2024
According to Moneypuck.com, Skinner now ranks second-last in playoff goaltenders in goals-saved above-expected (GSAx) at -4.6. The only goaltender worse off in the postseason is Connor Hellebuyck (-5.0) of the now-eliminated Winnipeg Jets.
It isn’t like the Oilers have been tasked with a red-hot goaltender on the other side. The Canucks have been running third-string Arturs Silovs in this series and the 23-year-old has been mediocre to average overall with a combined save percentage of .860 through the first three games.
The fact that a middling .800 save percentage is enough to outduel Skinner right now is unacceptable and it’s a huge factor in why the Oilers find themselves down in the series.
Deciding to go to Pickard in the middle of the second round of the NHL playoffs is a risky move to be certain but, considering how Skinner has played of late, would it be as bad as things have been?
Knoblauch will have to make that decision for himself.
Follow Channels and Categories