"Too quick for me": Skinner breaks down Oilers blowout loss to Jets
It was deja vu for the Edmonton Oilers as they once again got absolutely thrashed in their season-opener against the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 6-0.
Last season, it was the Vancouver Canucks doing the favour to the tune of an 8-1 drubbing. This time, it was Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets who completely shut down an Oilers team and caused a raucous Rogers Place crowd to grow silent.
Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, who was given opening-night starting duties for the first time in his young career, was at the centre of the lopsided result, allowing five goals on 13 shots before being pulled in the second period.
A goalie controversy wasn’t in the books for this Oilers team after it dominated last season but after a .615 performance from Skinner to start the year, it’s all anybody will look at after this one.
“It’s very frustrating to start like this,” Skinner told reporters after the game. “I feel terrible about what happened tonight. It sucks, you just don’t want to believe that you’re going to have a crappy start again.
“It’s just not ideal. Don’t feel great.”
"It's very frustrating to start like this. It's not ideal, don't feel great."
Stuart Skinner spoke to the media after tonight's #Oilers loss. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/WBKmGRLqan
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 10, 2024
The night didn’t start like this for the 25-year-old Edmonton native. In the opening minutes of the game, Oilers fans were on their feet chanting “STUUUUUU” after Skinner made a great breakaway save off the stick of Mark Schiefele.
EDM WPG G1. October 9, 2024. Stuart Skinner breakaway save. 🎥: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/0Qh4w80OGA
— Nation Network Media (@NationNMedia) October 10, 2024
It looked like Skinner was going to have a great game, but a second period that saw the Jets score three goals on just six shots saw all that goodwill come crashing down.
“The game was a little too quick for me,” Skinner admitted after the game. “I just wasn’t up to speed, and that’s on me… Maybe it was too much aggression on my part where I probably should have read the game a little bit better.
“I’m going to look at all the video and check it out and see where I can improve. I made some big saves but it really doesn’t do much when you let five in.”
Skinner has been the type of player who has shown in the past that he can rebound from poor performances like this. He’s built up a reputation of being one of the most relaxed players in the entire league, but the frustration was visible after this one.
The good thing about this type of performance is that it came so early in the season. It won’t be enough to derail an entire season, far from it, but the Oilers and Skinner will have to put in a lot of work to make sure that October 2024 doesn’t wind up as a repeat of last year’s horrendous start.