It's time for the Edmonton Oilers to exercise some demons when they face the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. The Panthers are the team that defeated them in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, and unfortunately for the Oilers, the goaltending struggles are still the talk of the town, which has been an ongoing problem ever since the Panthers' first Stanley Cup win. After Calvin Pickard's solid performance in the Oilers' overtime loss on Thursday night, starter Stuart Skinner's seat has never been hotter.
“This is all a really good test for me and a really good challenge for us as a group to go through some adversity early here, and we know what that's like; we've been here before,” Skinner told reporters before Saturday night's game.
The Oilers hoped that Skinner would learn from past mistakes this season and finally regain the form that earned him the Oilers' starting job in 2022-23. However, he is in the middle of his worst statistical season, posting a .882 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average. The Oilers have won just seven of Skinner's 16 appearances.
“Of course, I can only control so much, but that's my job. My job is to stop the puck, whether people like it or not,” Skinner said. “If I'm at the top of my game, we always have a chance to win; if I'm not, there's a good chance we're losing. That's every goalie in the League; if you have a bad night, most of the time, you're not winning the game.
Edmonton won't be able to continue down this path, wasting one of the three years they have left with captain Connor McDavid under contract. While the goaltending trade market isn't too strong, they might not have to look too far to find a better replacement for Stuart Skinner.
