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Stuart Skinner posted a shutout in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time in four games on Friday night, helping the Edmonton Oilers steal home-ice advantage back from the Dallas Stars. The 26-year-old made 25 saves on 25 shots as the Oilers beat the Stars 3-0 at American Airlines Center in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final.
And he earned high praise from the best player in the world afterwards.
“As players, you don’t have enough appreciation for how a goalie battles. You trust he’s going to do his job back there and battle and try to see the puck and make every save he can, and he did that tonight. He made every save. That’s a good night for a goalie,” Connor McDavid said afterwards, per NHL.com's Taylor Baird.
“Forwards are coming back really hard. Everyone is selling out blocking shots. It’s that time of year. That’s what it takes. It’s fun to watch.”
McDavid assisted on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins powerplay tally early in the first period, and that's all the offense the Oilers would need in this one. Edmonton scored two more in the second period with defenseman Brett Kulak getting his first of the playoffs followed in quick succession by a Connor Brown tip-in late in the frame.
With that, the Oilers are headed back to Alberta tied 1-1, just like a year ago.
Oilers, Stars playing in 2nd straight West Final
In 2024, Edmonton and Dallas met in the Western Conference Final, a series that also began at American Airlines Center. And just like last season, the teams split the first two games.
The Oilers went on to win the series in six games after capturing both contests at Rogers Arena. The Stars will be looking to flip the script this year, especially as they are playing in their third consecutive West Final — without a Stanley Cup Final appearance to show for it.
“I mean, obviously, you come down to a road city like this, and they're going to make it tough, and going home with a split is a good thing, and we now have the home-ice advantage going home here,” Nugent-Hopkins said after scoring the game winner, per Baird.
“Game 3 in front of our crowd, that building is going to be electric. We know that, so it's going be a lot of fun to play there. The series is a long way from [over] and we got to dig in here.”
Skinner has been a difference-maker for the Oilers since returning from injury, shutting out the Vegas Golden Knights in Games 4 and 5 of the second round and now blanking the Stars in a critical Game 2.
He'll look to continue his red-hot stretch on home ice, but the Central Division winners aren't going to go quietly.
“We’ve played a lot of playoff hockey the last three years,” said Dallas forward Wyatt Johnston, per Baird. “We know we’ve just got to be able to match that in those situations. Obviously, not the game we wanted. But they’re long series, and the most important one’s the next one.”
Game 3 is set for Sunday afternoon in Edmonton, the only game of either conference final that won't begin in the evening. The puck will drop on Oilers-Stars just past 3:00 p.m. EDT from Rogers Place.
