How Stuart Skinner aims to focus on things that matter — and win the Oilers more games

New York Times

17-03-2025

NEW YORK — The only thing that bothered Stuart Skinner about Sunday, and it was a mild annoyance at best, was that he didn't shut out the New York Rangers.
But Skinner will gladly take an outing in which he stopped 21 of 22 shots, backstopping his Edmonton Oilers to a 3-1 win to close out a 2-2 trip. That's far more important to him.
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'I felt good,' Skinner said. 'I felt calm in there. I felt like I made saves when I needed to.'
This was one of Skinner's best performances of the season. He turned away Matt Rempe's breakaway in the second period. He made a couple of key stops on J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad in the third.
The Oilers might not have won without him. That hasn't typically been the case.
Skinner sets the bar high when it comes to his standards between the pipes, and he hasn't reached them.
'I don't think I've really met the expectations of myself, but I'm also one of those guys that's very hard on myself,' Skinner said. 'If we'd won all the games that I've lost, I'm sure I'd tell you that I expect more out of myself and can still do better.'
Skinner owns an .897 save percentage in 46 appearances after Sunday. He doesn't need anyone to tell him that he hasn't played well enough. He's not soaking in anyone's disparaging posts on social media platforms anyway.
Being an NHL goaltender is hard enough on the best days. Being the starter for the hometown team you grew up rooting for is even more difficult, especially when you're not on top of your game.
It's why Skinner made the decision midway through last season to remove all his social media platforms — 'I just completely throw myself under a rock' — and only reload them in the summer.
'I learned pretty quickly that you've got to delete everything, so I don't have any apps on my phone,' Skinner said. 'I've got my text messages. I've got my phone call and Clash Royale. That's about it. I've got some chess in there, too.
'All that (other) stuff, you've just got to delete it, especially with how it was feeding me. I realized it was pointless for myself to be involved in that stuff.'
Skinner didn't always feel this way.
His rookie season of 2022-23 was tremendous. He was supposed to play only 25 or 30 games behind high-priced free agent Jack Campbell but wound up taking the top job by American Thanksgiving. Naturally, his timeline was full of adoration and praise amid being the Calder Trophy runner-up.
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Skinner, just getting his feet wet in the NHL, loved it. It was a nice boost to the ego, he said.
As his play dipped last season, he realized he didn't need the love or the hate. He felt like it was a benefit to his mental health not to have access to commenters.
'It only has a cost because you can get too high on yourself or too low on yourself,' Skinner said. 'In any case, it doesn't help you stop the puck. The people whose opinion matters most to me is important. It's caring about what my goalie coaches are saying and people who are in the goalie world. That's what I care about most.'
Of course, his head coach's opinion matters, too. After all, Kris Knoblauch gets the final call on how much Skinner plays. His assessment carries a fair bit of weight.
Knoblauch said Skinner was 'very strong' against the Rangers. The coach isn't as complimentary of the big picture before that point, but some caveats were attached.
'I've seen him play better, but I still think it's been very solid,' Knoblauch said. 'With the type of chances that we're giving up and the quality, it's tough for any goalie to play at his best when, as a team, we're playing like that. With goaltending, you want predictability (in front). You want consistency. Our team defence can get better, but he's not happy with his game also.'
The only stat Skinner has ever said he cares about is wins. That's what pleased him most about Sunday. He has 23 victories, tying him with Kevin Lankinen and Igor Shesterkin, his Rangers counterpart.
However, those 23 wins are over 44 decisions, which means he has won just twice more than he has lost.
Skinner was one of the NHL's better goaltenders from late November through late January. Otherwise, there have been more downs than ups.
He wants to be more consistent, but all he really wants to do is pile up more victories for the Oilers.
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'It's actually incredible how much of a better mood you're in the next day when you win a game despite how you played,' Skinner said. 'I still get frustrated by the way that I played or if I let in too many goals. … Even though we win, I still get frustrated with myself and still expect more out of myself. But it helps letting in goals and still winning. It's definitely a lot worse when you play that exact same way and you lose. It's 10 times worse.'
Skinner was the subject of much criticism and speculation before the trade deadline even though general manager Stan Bowman repeatedly said he was unlikely to make a change in net. Skinner said on the eve of the deadline that he had no idea about the discourse surrounding him, a benefit of being off social media.
Of course, Bowman didn't bring in a new stopper, which leaves Skinner as the main man while being pushed by Calvin Pickard.
'After that time, you realized that you were trusted with this opportunity to bring a team that wants to win the Cup,' Skinner said. 'That's pressure, and that pressure is on you. That trust is on me. It's a really good feeling just because I know that they do believe in me.'
The management team at least temporarily showed belief in Skinner, who has a $2.6 million cap hit and is eligible for free agency after next season. His teammates have his back, too.
Defenceman Brett Kulak has been with the Oilers for three years since being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens at the 2022 deadline. He has seen Skinner mature and is confident the 26-year-old has untapped potential.
'We know how bad he wants to be the guy and win us games and do his job at a high level,' Kulak said. 'We've seen it lots before in the past. It's not like we've never seen it from him. We know it's there, and he knows it's there.
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'The goalie is the easy guy to blame. Everyone seems to get on them first. There's lots of pressure in the position. Stu's been (through) the ups and downs, but he slowly keeps getting better and better, in my mind.'
Knoblauch shared a similar sentiment. He called Skinner an 'outstanding goalie.'
'He's won us a lot of games,' Knoblauch said. 'And he'll win us a lot more.'
That's exactly what happened in New York. Skinner was crucial in a victory that sent the Oilers home on a positive note.
'Stu stepped up and made some huge saves when we needed him to and stay composed,' veteran forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. 'He led the way.'
Leading the way is what Skinner wants to do from here on out. Online comments don't concern him. He's more focused on making good on the faith those in the organization have in him.
All he's fixated on now is that one more win in June that he didn't get nine months ago.
'I'm just going to keep on doing my job, keep on getting better, and do my best to bring these guys to a little bit better result than we had the previous year,' Skinner said.