Although Stuart Skinner is a great player, the Oilers really need a standout goalie.
After Game 3, Skinner apologized on Monday for missing the media conference. He was substituted for backup Calvin Pickard after 40 minutes of the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-3 victory, during which he gave up four goals on 15 shots.
No buts for him—he’s always stood in and has frequently fell on his own sword after games—but according to Skinner, Sunday’s loss left the Oilers trailing the series 2-1 due to feelings and being let go. The ever-friendly and responsible Skinner added, “I’d like to apologize to you guys for not being available last night.” I’m hoping everyone will pardon me. You never want to feel like you let the team down or to be pulled. I need to put in some effort and learn from my past mistakes.
Granted in the playoff crucible, but Skinner is aware of the details. On 58 shots, he has allowed 12 goals to Vancouver. The fact that he has so many goals is his problem because Arturs Silovs, the rookie in the other net, is outperforming him. The goals themselves are undoubtedly not all of his fault. And if he’s in for Game 4, then that needs to change quickly.
It was uncommon for his coach, Kris Knoblauch, who isn’t much on dancing, to withhold the starting lineup for Tuesday’s biggest postseason game. The head man responded, “I’ll let you guys know tomorrow morning.” Skinner added that he would know when he arrived at the arena for practice and checked the (lineup) board. It’s unclear if the question even exists. Skinner has made 20 straight starts in postseason play. Either way, the Jets declared Connor Hellebuyck their man, and the Oilers believe Skinner is their man, too, even with a strong No. 2 in Laurent Brossoit, regardless of how many goals he allowed Colorado in the opening round of the playoffs. Alternatively, they take a chance with Pickard, who hasn’t kicked off a postseason game.
Although he only saw three shots in the third period of Game 3, he is still the reliable No. 2 for the Oilers (23 games, 2.45 average,.909 save %), so Knoblauch can be certain he can go to his other guy. Despite this, Silovs is supposedly the Canucks’ third pick. He plays the majority of the season in the AHL in Abbotsford, behind Casey DeSmith and the injured Thatcher Demko. Why not, then, at least a suggestion of Pickard?
Goaltending in the playoffs is basically all about saves, and Skinner is aware that he needs to make more of them. Stop some of the ones you should and some that you shouldn’t. To what extent is this mental? To what extent is it technical?
It’s a really great question, Skinner remarked. The majority of people believe that goalies, in particular, are 90% mental, if not more. That’s something I’ve been working on for a while. I can make a few minor tweaks on a physical level, but to be honest, I don’t think it’s technical; instead, I think it’s more about making more saves at crucial moments.
Perhaps blocking one of Brock Boeser’s shoots in the opening frame, even though the players in front of Skinner committed errors and Boeser isn’t Ilya Mikheyev when he has the puck on his stick. Boeser scored six goals versus Edmonton in the regular season and now has three more in this series.
Goalies sometimes claim that they play against opposing teams rather than opposing goalies, although that is largely nonsense. Skinner always thinks he needs to outperform his opponent, and Silovs salvaged the win for Vancouver with 42 saves in Game 3. For the last forty minutes, he took 36 shots.
Despite his inexperience in the NHL (15 games), I thought he played an amazing game last night, thus it shouldn’t have affected me (other goalkeeper standing on his head). Very impressive to watch him in action, Skinner remarked. But my attention is on me. I’m not concerned about the other man because I’ve played a lot of pretty good goalies that I’ve defeated,” he remarked.
Nevertheless, Skinner’s figures are extremely concerning. In this series, he has a save percentage of.793. Silovs has a value of.908.
The stats don’t lie, but you don’t want to delve too far into the larger picture. They are who they claim to be.Perhaps they are slightly lying,” he jokingly said. However, it illustrates the situation. It is dependent on outcomes. Do I think I’ve been performing at those levels? Indeed, somewhat, he replied.
You couldn’t blame him for Boeser’s two shots in Game 3 or Elias Lindholm’s two more on the power play, but they went in. In Game 2, Nikita Zadorov made a poor bad-angle shot. He was duped by Conor Garland in Game 1 by having him fake a shot and slide it between his legs. In a previous game, Lindholm banked one off his stick.
Have any worthwhile aims been met? Indeed. Have some poor goals been entered? Indeed. Because they can get into a groove, goalies occasionally prefer to face forty shots rather than twenty. Skinner is one of such goalies. Is it ever better to have more volume? Yes. Still, it’s a part of the job. Occasionally, you receive ten or twelve shots but not enough looks to feel the puck. Although I’ve been doing it for a while, it is challenging. “It’s not an excuse,” he stated.
Skinner has been dominated by the Canucks, and not just during the postseason. His career record versus Vancouver is 9 games played, 2 wins, and a.883 save percentage. To be honest, they probably don’t care too much who the Oilers start in Game 4. To what extent does Skinner believe he has strayed from his regular-season achievements? “It measures inches. Perhaps one percent. I need to locate that extra one percent, that extra bit extra, that extra save. We would be giggling over how amazing I am if I did the very simple, tiny things I could do (better),” he remarked.
- The four goalposts that the Oilers hit out were similar to Silovs in Game 3. “We know Stu can play better than that,” Knoblauchremarked, citing Skinner’s propensity to bounce back from setbacks in the regular season and against LA, where he struggled early but finished the series with a brilliant 1-0 shutout in Game 4. “I’m sure Stu will bounce back if that’s him. If Pick plays (last start April 17 in Anaheim), I know he can put on a great show for us after a lengthy absence. Large choice to be made,” Knoblauch remarked.
