Winner, winner Stuart Skinner: Edmonton Oilers goalie fighting back
Article content
Turns out the guy who took Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Final last season still has some game.
'Stu is an outstanding goalie and whenever he has a bad game or time off, he usually comes back with a solid game,' said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who made the tough call three games into the playoffs to replace a struggling Skinner with backup Calvin Pickard.
'We knew it was coming. He made some good saves especially early on, with all their power plays (three in first period). Not only did he make all the saves but he looked confident doing it.'
Confidence couldn't have been easy to summon after Skinner lost the starting gig two playoff starts, partly because he couldn't come up with the big saves to bail his team out and partly because the team was terrible defensively and needed so much bailing out.
And then, when what was supposed to be a one- or two-game re-set, like last year when he turned the crease over to Pickard for two games midway through the Vancouver series, lasted six games, how do you not let self-doubt creep into the equation?
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