EDMONTON – Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner has been overtaken by pucks from everywhere and in all sorts of ways over the first two playoff games.
They took his defensemen’s skates off and sneaked past him. They pressured him through screens. They buzzed him out of the hatch.
More important than hitting the strings behind him, Anze Kopitar’s overtime winner in a 5-4 Game 2 loss that tied a first-round series with the Los Angeles Kings, was tackled above his glove.
The disc eluded Skinner and caused the red light to flash nine times. No Ferris Bueller computer could turn that back into something more palatable.
Something has to change quickly in Game 3 to avoid a much bigger disappointment than the one that occurred Wednesday.
“Games like this where you feel like the universe is against you and the puck isn’t working in your favor, it’s part of life,” Skinner said. “It’s part of the playoffs as well. I’m sure I’ll feel this again at some point. I mean, hopefully I’ll feel this again at some point if we get here.”
“The takeaway is wash it. I know who I am, I know my style of play, and I’ll get back to work.”
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Skinner had some bad luck in the first game as he allowed four goals on 37 shots. The only goal he had the slightest hope of stopping was a shot by Mickey Anderson that he never saw due to the screen.
The next pucks that beat him were knocked off the skates of Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse. The final goal was a five-point chance after Cody Cisse’s stick exploded in the defensive zone.
There wasn’t much Skinner could have done differently. The final two goals were conceded in overtime in a convincing 7-4 win at the hands of the Oilers.
Game 2 was different.
No, it’s not like Skinner was a sieve or anything like that. The game ended with only 21 saves out of 26 shots.
“I thought there were a lot of mishaps — not as bad as last night. In the first game, I thought he played really well,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Tonight, not that any of those goals were bad. “
Knoblauch quickly summarized some of the Five Kings’ statistics before finishing his thought.
“I don’t blame him for any of these goals,” he said.
In fact, only two of those goals were unstoppable. There was another double deflection fumbled by Oilers foe Adrian Kempe and the Kings’ second marker of the game. Kopitar’s winner, a vicious wrister on a partial break that went past Skinner’s glove, should fall into this category as well.
As for the rest of them, well, Skinner has the analysis.
Kempe scored his first goal at 3:19 of the first period on his second shot of the game. He beat Skinner low to the glove side from the high slot.
“Kempe had a great shot, but that’s a shot I saw, and I can stop a ball like that,” Skinner said.
A breakaway goal scored by Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, of all people, saw him slide through Skinner’s five-hole after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pushed his stick on the backcheck as he headed toward a backhand putt. That put the Kings up 3-1 at 18:02 of the opening period and came 35 seconds after the Oilers’ Brett Kulak scored one.
“I just got caught in the mix and didn’t read it well,” Skinner said. “These are the things that happen. Every shot they take, it looks like it hit a guy’s stick or hit a skate.
It was Kevin Fiala’s wobbler from the sideboards that seemed to smell the most. That gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead at 1:46 of the third period.
“I think it came to me clean,” Skinner said. “To be honest, I couldn’t see anything.”
There were many reasons behind achieving the goals. There weren’t enough answers as to why it wasn’t there.
And so the criticism and speculation begin. It’s the playoffs, after all. But let’s clear a few things up first.
The Oilers were far from perfect defensively in Game 2. The turnover led to Kempe’s first goal. Doughty and Kopitar scored on clear chances.
“There’s a lot to clean up,” Knoblauch said. “They are a good team – they will get chances – but I felt like we were giving them some chances that I don’t think we needed.”
Also, despite some shaky moments in this series, there’s no doubt that the network belongs to Skinner. It wouldn’t take a “When Pigs Fly” scenario to change this equation, but it should be close.
Skinner allowed nine goals in Games 1 and 2. (Perry Nelson/USA Today)
Calvin Pickard, for all his regular season success, is the backup. It is there in case the glass needs to be broken in an emergency.
Jack Campbell, who has been in the minors since November, allowed five goals on 35 shots in the Bakersfielders’ first playoff game on Wednesday – a loss to the Kings’ farm team. Don’t count on him as a replacement who is thrust into the starring role for the Oilers as he was in last year’s playoffs.
Olivier Rodrigue, Bakersfield’s other goaltender, has never appeared in an NHL game.
Knoblauch threw his support behind the mustachioed 25-year-old goaltender after Wednesday’s game.
He said he never thought about pulling Skinner after the first period when he allowed three goals on seven shots.
He then pointed out Skinner’s ability to rebound after subpar games and mentioned what Skinner admitted after giving up five goals on 22 shots in a loss to Tampa Bay on December 14. Skinner posted a .915 save percentage over his last 38 games after that game.
“I saw him take charge and responsibility and come out strong and play great,” Knoblauch said. “I have no doubt he can do it.”
The entire hockey world will be watching Game 3 on Friday to see if Knoblauch’s trust in Skinner is well-founded.
There will be questions and concerns about Skinner because of what happened in the 2023 playoffs until he puts in some strong performances. Skinner went 5-6 last April and May with an .883 save percentage after a Calder Cup runner-up season. He was pulled four times in 12 starts.
The Oilers cannot afford a repeat of what happened last year from their goaltender.
Look, the Oilers were a lot better than the Kings through the first two games.
They got some standout performances from their stars — or at least some game-breaking plays. Their power play has looked unstoppable and they are 4-for-7 after converting nine of 16 chances in last year’s series. They even got some deep contributions — namely the first two goals of the playoff game from sophomore Dylan Holloway on Wednesday.
They have this series firmly on their hands though all things being equal.
“I saw some of the goals they scored last game. I saw some of the goals they scored tonight. I don’t want to take anything away (from them), but they seem like fluke goals,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.
“I still like the way we played. We still have a lot of puck.”
It seems like the Oilers just need a good point guard to take out the Kings. They don’t need a brick wall between the pipes, but someone with a savings ratio of 0.857 — as Skinner did at first — wouldn’t be able to cut through that wall.
There can be all the bad luck and bad bounces in the world for Skinner – and he’s certainly had his share over the first two games. But he has to find a way to keep a few more balls off the net.
Thats all about it.
“I don’t think I was a big (positive) factor in tonight’s game,” Skinner said. “I will get better from this and move forward.”
(Top photo of Drew Doughty scoring over Stuart Skinner: Cody McLachlan/Getty Images)
