Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Let’s take a moment to address the elephant in the room.

I know Stuart Skinner has an Instagram account, I hope he doesn’t have a Twitter account or watch YouTube videos. He’s been a polarizing goalie among Oilers fans for quite some time now. Concerns held by some were raised even higher after Saturday night. Just as on most things about the team, I try to have a more neutral opinion, as hard as that may sometimes be. But as much of a Stu defender as I’ve been, the habit of playing games where he allows 3 goals in less than 10 shots against can only go over someone’s head for so long. I’m not jumping onto the side that’ll run him out of town, but perhaps the next time he has a bad opening 10 minutes, there should immediately be a goalie change. I don’t recall Edmonton’s coaching staff ever doing this. He played games like this last year, too. The longer the game or series went on, the better his play went on. The problem with that is it’s also made frequent bad starts acceptable, and that first period cost his team at least an Overtime point. I’ve written about needing to reward players when they play a good game or a good shift. You also need to hold players accountable when they play a bad game or bad shift. Granted, Mattias Ekholm missed Saturday’s game due to illness, and he was missed at times on the backend, given that the Maple Leafs also had John Tavares and Matthew Knies return to their lineup. It’s still hard to use that excuse when you outshoot your opponent 48-28. The first Toronto goal? There was a screen in front, okay. But Skinner’s rebound control on the second and third goals made me miss the times when he’d just kick a puck to the corner. Mitch Marner made a nice move on the fourth goal, but I don’t always like hearing “Initial save” after I just saw a puck cross the goal line.

Now, if Leon Draisaitl’s tying goal in the third period wasn’t called back for offside, I may’ve been sitting here writing instead about the big save Skinner made a moment earlier to help make the tying goal happen. That’s why, a few articles ago, I wrote about needing to wait until a game is officially over and not express strong feelings too soon. You just move on, don’t allow the next one, and get yourself back in it. You can’t deny Stu’s mental toughness, or any other Oiler’s, in that regard. They’re always comfortable playing from behind, it’s just how they operate, and they have made comebacks before. That being said, I’m not so biased that I don’t sympathize with the frustration of seeing other goalies come up with saves that ours can’t. Time may’ve run out anyway when Joseph Woll made that last save in the dying seconds, but it’s still a moment that Oilers fans crave more of. Via an article from Oilersnation, in 13 games against teams in a Playoff spot, Skinner has an .871 SV%. That’s important to take into account, as you kind of need to beat those teams in the Playoffs. In 4 of those games, the save percentages were good, really good. In 9 of them, even the eye test isn’t your friend.

I’m not saying I no longer believe in Stuart Skinner. He’s not an elite goalie, but considering his situation since 2022/2023, he’s still been closer to a Stanley Cup win than most of the league’s best current goalies. This organization pegged him as their future in net, I don’t believe they’d give up on him quickly. If you think Skinner needs a new backup or 1A/1B partner, fair enough. Bringing in someone with more Playoff experience to split the workload might motivate him a little. If Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman feel that he and Calvin Pickard can’t be that tandem two seasons in a row, my armchair GM persona will happily welcome the new goalie acquisition with open arms. But that tandem must be doing something right, at least one thing right, if the team’s battling for 1^st place in their division. As I mentioned earlier, just work on fixing those bad starts and make it a mental priority to not repeat them. Or fire goalie coach Dustin Schwartz, I notice a lot of Oilers fans disliking him all the time, too. Enough sad and negative talk, more hockey tonight. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Friends Rematch: In the last meeting with the St. Louis Blues, Dylan Holloway scored a goal at Rogers Place, and Philip Broberg made an error that wound up being a goal against. Their new team is 7 points out of a Wild Card spot, desperate for more wins. Look for these guys to seek a rebound night against their former team.

Jordan, eh?: Talk about Stuart Skinner being in the Finals, Jordan Binnington is a Stanley Cup champion whose had consistency issues of his own since being called for Team Canada in the upcoming Four Nations Tournament. He’s sporting an .897 SV% compared to Skinner’s .902 SV%. If they are the starters for tonight, they’re both looking to have a rebound game for their respective clubs.

Greasy: Before I wrote this article, I watched Steve Dangle’s Leafs Fan Reaction video about Saturday night to get his perspective. He presented an analytics graph showing where both the Leafs and Oilers had their scoring chances. His team had more chances in the slot. Even though it was a valiant effort by Edmonton to almost complete a comeback, their forwards need to make it harder on the other team’s goalies. Force them to make hard saves, force ugly rebounds, provide more screen,s and look for tips.