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Edmonton Oilers bring Skinner back facing elimination in Game 6
Facing elimination at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers were going to win or lose with their starting goalie back where he belongs. Stuart Skinner returned to the Oilers net for the first time since allowing four goals before getting pulled in Game 3. Backup Calvin Pickard started the next two games, going 1-1, as the Vancouver Canucks took a 3-2 lead coming into Game 6 their Western Conference second-round playoff series at Rogers Place on Saturday. Up to that point, Skinner allowed 12 goals on 58 shots against the Canucks, for a 4.40 goals-against average and a staggering .793 save percentage — well below his regular-season numbers of a 2.69 average and .905 percentage. “I’m very excited to get back in the net, I’m excited to get to do my job again,” Skinner, 25, said after Saturday’s morning skate. “I got some work in, some solid practices and I got to watch Calvin do his thing. “He was incredible. He got the job done when he was asked to get put in and he’s been doing that all year for us.” While Skinner cheered on Pickard to a playoff save percentage of .915, having to watch the past two games unfold from the bench wasn’t the easiest job. “It was tough just because you want to be in there. But at the same time, I was just ecstatic for Calvin,” Skinner said. “He played incredible, the guys played really well. He got us tied at 2-2 (in the series) and he got his job done. “Any type of situation like that, it’s difficult. I’ve been working on my mental game for a long time here. It’s just another experience where I got to work on some more stuff mentally. So, being able to kind of throw that frustration down and just be the best teammate that I could possibly be, I had a lot of fun and was able to get my work in. Really good for me.” The Oilers, of course, were hoping what’s good for the goalie goose is good for the gander, with Skinner’s return prompting the same sort of spark as Pickard’s first playoff start led to in the team. “A lot of it was strictly competitiveness,” Skinner said of getting his mind focused during his time out of the lineup. “These (Canucks) guys, they go to the net hard, they’ve always got two guys in front of the net that really just battle in front, so it’s my job to push back a bit. “A lot of guys came up to me and just gave me their support. They all told me I’d get back into the cage at some point here, and that obviously I’m a really important piece in all this. So, I’m not getting too down on myself and just really taking this as an opportunity to get better and work on my game and take some time off.” Those playing in front of Skinner didn’t need any convincing he was ready for a return to active duty. “I thought he got back to work, not to say that he wasn’t working hard before, but I saw him watching some video and working hard at practice and stuff like that,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “So, whenever he’s doing that, I expect him to play well.” But playing well in the regular season is one thing for Skinner, while the playoffs have been another story so far in his young career. A year ago, Skinner took over the starting job in his rookie season with the Oilers, on the way to an all-star appearance and being voted as a finalist for the Calder Memorial trophy. But he ended up going 5-6 in 12 playoff starts, getting pulled in no fewer than four of those games on the way to a 3.68 goals-against average and .883 save percentage. Skinner showed he was able to bounce back from a poor performance on the way to a 5-1 series win in this year’s opening round against the Los Angeles Kings. But this series against the Canucks has been less than impressive for the Oilers starter. “Stu had a couple days to reset, take some time away and evaluate his game and think about some thing,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “But also spend some time on the ice and working on getting back to finding his game. “And we’ve seen Stu play unbelievable, really well for us, steal games. Just solid. And he’s been our guy for us all year, so in a situation like this that’s who we want in net.” E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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Stu Skinner gets Edmonton Oilers' net back for must-win Game 6
Playoff Game Day 2.6: Vancouver at Edmonton The decision has been made, and not all fans of the Edmonton Oilers are going to like it: Coach Kris Knoblauch is turning back to his #1 goaltender, Stuart Skinner, for the biggest game of the season. Skinner has had his struggles in the postseason for the second year in a row, especially in the current Vancouver series. He played the first 8 periods, allowing 12 goals on just 58 shots for a miserable .793 save percentage. Backup Calvin Pickard mopped up in Game 3, then played the entirety of Games 4 and 5 as the two teams split a pair of 3-2 decisions. Pickard was solid in both games, indeed in the eyes of many he was the reason the Canucks did not win by a much more comfortable margin in Game 5 on what was a rough night for the Oilers skaters. It was, however, the first time he’d gotten consecutive NHL starts since an emergency recall with Detroit in January of 2022. As strong as he’s been as the backup ‘tender, four starts in a week is not really part of his history, and that’s what it would’ve taken for the Oilers to pull out a series win with the likeable Pickard in the pipes. My own take was always that Pickard would play until the third loss, then Skinner would get another shot, which is apparently in line with Knoblauch’s thinking as well. Fair to say that Pickard’s strong performance in Game 5 made that decision a lot tougher. Also fair to say that Skinner’s own performance in the postseason hasn’t inspired a tremendous amount of confidence in Oil Country. He had a pair of excellent games in Los Angeles, otherwise a string of sub-.900 games including the last 4 in a row. The Oilers will get a well-rested, highly-motivated version of Stu Skinner against the Canucks tonight. How well that translates to actual performance is the question, and with it a bunch of subsidiary questions that could well hang over both goalie and coach all summer long if things don’t go well. Meanwhile, big questions hang over the group of skaters, especially Edmonton’s top players who have not seen the ice since Thursday’s loss. Those numbers are familiar to most, but for the record: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane, Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard. Trouble being, that list of key skaters almost perfectly matches that of Edmonton’s poorest performers in Game 5: Worth noting that the 7 big names at the bottom of this particular game score card exactly correspond with the top 7 Oilers for ice time in this series. Of particular concern were the bottom 5 names here — a.k.a. the first unit at 5v5 — which generated almost nothing offensively while being lit up for a pair of goals at their own end of the sheet including J.T. Miller’s last-minute game winner. Oilers ice time in Vancouver series Let’s face it folks, for the Oilers to have a fighting chance, all of those guys need to be a whole lot better on Saturday night. With rumours of illness and injury rippling through the ranks, extra rest is likely the better choice. Sounds like Corey Perry will be coming out of the line-up after 10 pointless games. Who will replace him? Adam Henrique, reportedly ruled out for Game 6 last night, took the skate this morning and is now being tabbed as likely to return to the line-up. “Not written in sharpie”. Other options include forwards Sam Carrick and Sam Gagner as well as Perry himself. An 11F / 7D alignment is also a remote possibility, perhaps worth considering if Ekholm’s widely-reported illness remains an issue. Lots of questions hanging over the Edmonton Oilers. The short-term answers will begin to filter in shortly after tonight’s (early! 6pm MDT) puck drop. In the longer term, those questions threaten to hang around all summer. Recently at the Cult of Hockey STAPLES: Changes in the works for Game 6 STAPLES: Secret sauce from each Oilers player to avoid Game 6 elimination McCURDY: Ekholm, Draisaitl, Kane — Maintenance Men by day, difference makers by night LEAVINS: 9 Things Player grades LEAVINS: Game 5 — Canucks 3, Oilers 2 STAPLES: Game 4 — Oilers 3, Canucks 2 McCURDY: Game 3 — Canucks 4, Oilers 3 STAPLES: Game 2 — Oilers 4, Canucks 3 (OT) LEAVINS: Game 1 — Canucks 5, Oilers 4 Follow me on X-Twitter @BruceMcCurdy
Stuart Skinner back in net for Edmonton Oilers? Carrick in for Perry? New third line? Yes, sounds like it
Stuart Skinner back in net instead of Calvin Pickard for the Edmonton Oilers for Game 6? Centre Sam Carrick in for winger Corey Perry? And a new third line of Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod, the same line that did so well against Las Vegas last playoff season? It sound like it to me, at least if I’m correctly following the bread crumbs dropped by Edmonton’s Game 6 line-up dropped by the team’s ultimate insider Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now. When it comes to Carrick in the line-up, it sounds like it’s either him or Adam Henrique, Stauffer made clear. “Adam Henrique is a game time decision. I think one of Henrique or Carrick is coming in for Edmonton.” As for Skinner over Pickard, Stauffer said, “I think hypothetically there’s a strong possibility we might see Stuart Skinner start tomorrow.” Stauffer works for the team, travels with the team, is a tireless worker, and is by far the most connected reporter of all things Edmonton Oilers. If he makes.a statement like that, I take it that he’s not spitballing, that he’s heard something and this is his way of telling us. It happens now and then on Oilers Now, which is why the show is a can’t miss broadcast for fans. Stauffer and guest Frank Seravalli, the hard-hitting NHL writer of the Daily Face-off, both agreed if they were picking, they’d go with Skinner over Pickard. Servalli noted that Skinner is rested and that as well as Pickard played there was still six pucks that got behind him, one that hit the post, one of crossbar, one pulled off the line by Vincent Desharnais. “Let’s say the Oilers win Game 6 and there’s a Game 7,” Seravalli said. “Do you really want Cal Pickard playing four in a row. That’s why I’m gong with Stuart Skinner now.” Stauffer noted that Skinner had had a break and he’s been number one all year. “I’m not disrespecting for a second what Cal Pickard has done. But it’s crunch time and the team has got to play way better in front of him.” As for the third line, Stauffer had a suggestion. If they do sit Corey Perry , one of the things they can do, was to go with Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod at third line, a trio that had been Edmonton’s best possession line against Vegas last year. “They got one shift together at the end of the second and Derek Ryan almost scored on (Vancouver goalie Arturs) Silovs.” Related: The best 20 minutes of radio you’ve ever heard? Staples and Stauffer discuss Oilers heading into game 6 My take 1. Cal Pickard was fantastic against Vancouver in Game Five. He faced 20 Grade A shots and let in just two goals. On 20 such shots you’d expect a team would score four-to-six goals. I’d go with the hot hand, stick with Pickard and worry about Game 7 if the Oilers get a win in Game 6. Skinner wasn’t sharp last year against Vegas and he hasn’t been sharp against Vancouver. If he starts, maybe he’ll be lights out. But I suspect there’s a better chance Pickard will provide solid goaltending in the next two games than Skinner will. 2. I’d like to see Sam Gagner in, but Stauffer made that sound unlikely. And, whatever my own preference, I do like the idea of going back to a line of McLeod, Ryan and Foegele. Frankly I don’t know why we didn’t see this line repeatedly throughout the season. The trio played solid two-way hockey against Vegas. 3. Perry has been struggling to keep up with the speed of the playoffs, so it makes sense he’d come out. Henrique is a smart player who blends well with Hyman and McDavid when healthy. But if Perry is coming out, and if Ryan-Foegele-McLeod are to be re-united, it makes sense to play Carrick over Henrique on the fourth line, given Henrique may be unable to take face-offs. Carrick is also healthy and can provide a physical element, something the Oilers lacked in Game 5. Related Secret sauce from each Oilers player to avoid Game 6 elimination LEAVINS: Player grades in Game 5 loss
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