When it comes to Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, one never knows what they are going to get.
On one hand, one might see a version of Skinner, 26, who stands tall, comes up with big saves, does not get out of position, and does not allow soft goals. When this version of Skinner is in between the pipes, the Oilers are a tough team to beat.
On the other hand, one might see a version of Skinner who plays too deep in his crease, allows a lot of soft goals, gets caught out of position, and loses his starting role to backup goaltender Calvin Pickard. When this Skinner is between the pipes, the Oilers become an easy team to beat.
In this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, the Oilers have seen both versions of Skinner. The early version struggled in his team’s first round matchup with the Los Angeles Kings and then early on against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.
The Skinner who is starring in goal for the Oilers right now has been terrific. In fact, it is his play in goal that has the team four wins away from winning their first Cup since 1990, as the Oilers will be taking on the Florida Panthers, just like they did last season.
In these playoffs, Skinner is currently (As of Friday, May 30) 6-4 with a 2.53 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage, and three shutouts. While these statistics are not exactly eye-grabbing, there are a few things that stand out.
For starters, his three shutouts came at the right time for his hockey club. Skinner had back-to-back shutouts over the Golden Knights in Games 4 and 5 to eliminate the Golden Knights and move on to the Western Conference Finals.
In those two games, Skinner stopped a combined 46 shots. Yes, that is not a lot of shots, but nevertheless, Skinner shut the door on the Golden Knights when it mattered most and helped his team get to the next round.
He then shut out the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals by making 25 saves. The reason this was an important shutout is that Skinner was not great in Game 1 when he allowed five goals on 22 shots and put his team in a 1-0 hole heading into Game 2.
Believe it or not, both Skinner’s goals-against and save percentage numbers also stand out. Yes, they are certainly not elite numbers by any means, but considering where he started in this year’s playoffs, they are both quite respectable.
After getting pulled in Game 2 of his team’s first round series with the Kings, Skinner had a 6.11 goals-against average. In the first two games of the series, he allowed 11 goals on 58 shots and had save percentages of .800 and .821, respectively.
Since then, however, Skinner has flipped the script. After Pickard got hurt and Skinner got the starting role back in Game 3, he has had just three games where his save percentage is in the .800s and three games where he has allowed more than three goals.
Lastly, Skinner’s confidence between the pipes is something that has been very noticeable. He has controlled his rebounds, has cut down on the bad goals he allows, and has made big saves when his team has needed them.
Skinner may not be the most consistent goaltender in the league, and he may not put up the best numbers. With that said, he is playing at a steady enough level that has him and the team believing that they can win hockey’s Holy Grail, which is all that matters at this time of the year.
ITR 40: Headed For A Repeat? – Inside The Rink
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