The Edmonton Oilers Should Ride Or Die With Stuart Skinner
All season long and well before it, the Edmonton Oilers' goaltending situation has been a subject of intense debate.
For most of the past two seasons, the Oilers ran with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard in net. Despite trade speculation suggesting the Oilers need an upgrade in net, they've stuck with their tandem.
Advertisement
But after Monday's 6-1 debacle at the hands of the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final, Edmonton now has a tough decision to make – whether to stick with Skinner after two consecutive subpar performances or have Pickard come in and try to even up the series. Pickard replaced Skinner in the first round and went 6-0 with an .888 save percentage before suffering an injury.
That said, it's not really a tough decision. The Oilers should be living or dying with Skinner as their guy. While Pickard has his supporters, Skinner has done enough to earn the trust of his team as they try to dig out of a 2-1 series hole.
We're not for a minute suggesting Skinner should be free of criticism. Giving up the first goal of the game just 56 seconds into the first period is hardly the start the Oilers were looking for from Skinner. Before he got the hook in the third period, Skinner allowed five Panthers goals on just 23 shots. His .783 save percentage in Game 3 is not ideal, nor is his .860 save percentage in the Cup final.
However, Skinner has had moments where he looked terrific this post-season.
Stuart Skinner (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
In three of Edmonton's five games against Dallas in the Western Conference final, Skinner posted a save percentage of .966 or better. He also has three shutouts in these playoffs.
Advertisement
While there were serious doubts about his play early in the playoffs, he has since done enough for the Oilers to win more games than they lose.
Sure, they'd want him to be sharper in the past couple of games, but have you seen how poorly Edmonton has defended in front of him? There aren't many goalies out there who could steal wins when their teammates are turnstiles, and Skinner isn't a superhero who can stand on his head on every shot from the deep and strong Panthers. Pickard isn't, either.
If the Oilers do go on to lose the Cup final, Skinner's future with the team will be called into question. That's fair. It doesn't matter which team or player we're talking about – if you can't get the job done in two consecutive Cup finals, your job security will be in doubt.
While the 26-year-old Skinner is under contract next season at a very reasonable $2.6-million cap hit, you have to think Oilers GM Stan Bowman will be seeking out a different look between the pipes. Maybe that's current Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson or someone else, but the status quo in net probably won't be an option for Edmonton.
Advertisement
For now, though, Skinner is the best option for the Oilers. He's battled his way through the muck for a while now, and he can still control his future in Edmonton by coming up with strong performances whenever he's called upon. But he certainly needs a stronger effort from the players in front of him, which is why Skinner can't be scapegoated – at least, right now.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
32 minutes ago
NASCAR's Mexico City race: Daniel Suarez balances racing at home with uncertainty over contract
MEXICO CITY -- Daniel Suarez has become the unofficial tour guide for all things Mexico City as NASCAR prepares to race internationally this Sunday for the first international points-paying Cup Series event of the modern era. From where to eat, what to do, how to navigate the city and even basic conversation in Spanish, Suarez has been the go-to guy in the garage since NASCAR said it would take the Cup Series outside the United States for just the third time in 77 years. The Monterrey native has made multiple trips to NASCAR as the face of Sunday's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where he's raced on a different course layout 13 times, with three wins in NASCAR's Mexico Series. He'd like to win at the Cup level — if he pulls it out in his home country Sunday it will be his first victory of this season — but Suarez is juggling a very difficult balancing act. He's elated to be racing in front of a home crowd, honored to show of the culture and magic of Mexico City, but at the same time tremendously concerned about his NASCAR future. Suarez is in a contract year with Trackhouse Racing, which has Ross Chastain and Shane van Ginsberg under contract while Connor Zilisch is its development driver and on loan to several teams at lower national levels of NASCAR racing. Trackhouse only has three Cup Series seats, math Suarez can't ignore as he heads into Sunday ranked 28th in the standings. 'It's not the first time that I've been in this position. Definitely the first time with the Mexico race, but it's not the first time that I've been in the position that we have to win or in the position that we have a contract negotiation in the middle of the season,' Suarez said. 'It's definitely a distraction. I won't sit here and tell you that it doesn't really matter. I'm trying to be as smart as possible and to put all this stuff on the side and just do my thing on the track.' Suarez, the only Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race, has two Cup victories, three Xfinity Series wins and one Truck Series win. His 2016 championship in the second-tier Xfinity Series made him the only foreign-born driver to win a national series title. Suarez has faced adversity before, but never like the pressure he's feeling hoping to deliver in front of the local crowd. This weekend in Mexico is special to Suarez, who expects well over 100 of the spectators in attendance Sunday to be friends and family. They've watched from afar as he's worked his way into the NASCAR spotlight, a journey full of ups and downs that have seen Suarez drive for four different Cup teams. He joined Trackhouse Racing in 2021 and last year signed a one-year extension through 2025. At the time, he said he wanted to reassess where the program was before signing a long-term deal. But it's been a disappointing start to the season and his average finish of 21st is three spots worse than last year. 'The Mexico race is something that I've been hoping and waiting on for many, many years, and I'm not going to let anything else from outside take that week and that moment from myself,' Suarez said. 'We have to just continue to put one foot in front of the other and continue to move forward. I think that in Trackhouse, we have found some decent speed in the last few weeks, so that's promising, and hopefully we can continue to move in that direction.' Suarez will have Mexican communication company Telcel on his car this weekend. 'For many years, I never had a sponsor deal with a company from Mexico because I wasn't racing there,' Suarez said. 'So right now that we're going to be having an event down there, it opens a whole new world of opportunities and that's great, obviously for me, but for the entire sport.' It's another layer of pressure for Suarez, who wants nothing more than to balance the demands of being the star of Sunday's show with delivering a strong showing. "Once we get into the race, we don't want to deal with any of this stuff, and I just want to focus and have fun driving race cars,' he said. 'There is going to be more on my plate just by nature, just being the local guy, the very first race ever in Mexico City in the Cup Series. I have to accept that. With that being said, I have to protect my space for the competition stuff because if we don't do the competition stuff right, everything else doesn't really matter. So we have to put a balance on everything.' As Suarez noted, a win on Sunday would dramatically improve his hopes of remaining with Trackhouse on a contract extension. It could happen: Suarez's first Cup victory came on the road course at Sonoma, and the next five Cup races include road-course races at Mexico City, Sonoma and the Chicago street course. He admitted 'honestly, I don't know' about what he'd like out of a contract extension, but said he speaks regularly with team owner Justin Marks. 'The trajectory of Trackhouse has been tremendous,' Suárez said. 'We have learned so many things. I really want to help Justin bring Trackhouse to the next level. I believe that 2022 has been our best year as a company, still. So why is that? Are we missing something? Do we have to change something? What do we need to do better? As a new team, to have your best years that early, it's kind of uncommon. One of the reasons, I believe, was because of the new car. So I believe that we have to continue to grow. 'Ross just won a race a couple weeks ago, and that's brought a lot of energy to the team and some more momentum. Before that, it was a little bit of a struggle. So we have to continue to find that speed in a consistent basis, just like the big teams," he continued. "So we're having all these conversations. I wish I didn't have to have these conversations, and I didn't have these distractions, but it's part of life, right? Sometimes you have to do several things at the same time. But I'm trying not to think about it too much and trying to work in my job and push as hard as possible for competition and trying to help the team slowly get better and better.'
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oilers' Walman fined $10K as Panthers stayed cool amid fight-filled Game 3
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers played Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night in Sunrise. It did not feel like a normal Stanley Cup Final game. There were multiple fights, a line brawl and cheap shots left and right. Advertisement When the dust settled, officials had called 140 minutes of penalties, which is the fourth-most ever in a Stanley Cup Final game. Many of the physical interactions were either instigated or exacerbated by the Oilers as Florida's lead ballooned from three to four to five. While there were plenty of questionable decisions, a couple by Oilers defenseman Jake Walman caught the attention of the NHL Department of Player Safety. Walman was fined a total of $10,000 by the NHL DOPS for two separate incidents that occurred during Game 3. One came after he and Florida's A.J. Greer had a little run-in, which ended up with Greer skating away and to his bench with Walman's glove. Advertisement Walman responded by taking a water bottle from the Oilers bench and spraying it several times at Florida's bench. That "incident involving Florida's bench" cost Walman $5,000, the maximum allowable fine under the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA. "I obviously did that for a reason," Walman said after the game. "I won't go into the details. It's just gamesmanship, I guess. I've just got to realize there's cameras everywhere and they see that stuff." The second $5,000 fine stemmed from an altercation with Matthew Tkachuk in front of Edmonton's net. Advertisement While Tkachuk's arms were being held by Oilers blueliner John Klingberg, Walman laid several punches to Tkachuk's face and head. Officials gave Wallman a double minor for roughing and a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Tkachuk, who finished the game with an assist and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes, "We just went out there and played hockey," he said. "We talked about it in the third (period), if you have to take a punch, you take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. A spear or a slash in the face, whatever the case is." It will be interesting to see how the Oilers respond after such an undisciplined performance. Advertisement Game 4 between Florida and Edmonton is set for Thursday at 8 p.m. from Amerant Bank Arena. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three takeaways: Fights, penalties take over Game 3, Ekblad shines in Panthers rout of Oilers Panthers earn strong home victory in Game 3, take first series lead of Stanley Cup Final Panthers' Paul Maurice Makes Hilarious Aleksander Barkov Joke 3 Panthers Who Must Shine In Game 3 vs. Oilers Panthers Reveal Lineup Changes For Game 3 vs. Oilers Photo caption: Jun 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues (17) fights Edmonton Oilers right wing Corey Perry (90) during the third period in game three of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
Oilers vs. Panthers live updates: 2025 Stanley Cup Final Game 4 start time, picks and predictions
Welcome to our live coverage of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Oilers and the Panthers from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The first two games of this series were cardiac affairs as both required overtime. In fact, Game 2 needed two overtimes. After the dust settled, this series shifted to Florida tied one game apiece. However, in Game 3, we saw the first signs of true separation from either team as the Panthers comfortably beat the Oilers 6-1 in front of their home crowd. Sergei Bobrovsky was stellar in net while Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart each contributed two points. Will the Oilers respond in Game 3? Can the Panthers take a commanding 3-1 series lead? Stay tuned...
