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Despite one of his worst showings of the 2025 postseason on Monday night, Stuart Skinner will be back between the pipes for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The 26-year-old told reporters ahead of the critical tilt against the Florida Panthers that the team is at its best when it's in a difficult spot.
“Fate's given us another opportunity here,” Skinner said, per The Athletic's Chris Johnston.
“I felt like I was going to be in,” he added. “I don't really see too much reason to panic quite, quite yet. I think it's a good opportunity for me to come back. I know obviously we lost two in a row and I'm good in these situations, I know how to bounce back, I know how to play well. So it's just getting back to that.”
Although Skinner has struggled in the series, he has never lost a Game 4 in his NHL career. The Alberta native is 6-0 along with a 1.26 goals-against average, .955 save percentage and two shutouts, per Sportsnet Stats.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch admitted that Skinner's impeccable record in Game 4s influenced the decision to put him back in goal, instead of turning to Calvin Pickard.
“I've been really impressed with how Stu has handled a lot of things,” Knoblauch told reporters after the morning skate. “The adversity, whether that's regular season, playoffs. Things haven't always gone smoothly, but he's been able to work it out and respond. Another one is just how well he's played in the second half of series. That goes for every single series last year, this year.”
Game 4 is a virtual must-win for Oilers
The Oilers were probably in must-win territory in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings after being down 2-0 in Round 1. But after triumphing in that contest, they haven't been in that boat since.
Edmonton racked off four straight wins against LA before dominating the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, winning each series in five games.
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But entering Thursday night, this feels like must-win territory once again. The Oilers can't afford to fall into a 3-1 hole against a team as potent as the Panthers are right now.
Although the Oil were able to make a miraculous comeback in an 0-3 hole last June, a defeat in Game 4 would be hugely demoralizing, especially after the lopsided final score in Game 3.
But if Edmonton can find a way to get back on even footing, they'll have home-ice advantage back for a best-of-three — with two of those games set to be played, if necessary, at Rogers Place.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will play despite being labelled a game-time decision, but Knoblauch will make two lineup changes. Troy Stecher will replace John Klingberg on the blue line, while Jeff Skinner will slot in for Viktor Arvidsson up front.
“We have a lot of good players, a lot of good players who had been in and out of the lineup,” Knoblauch said. “Some players haven't even seen any game action so far in this series. Felt that we could use the change, have those guys come in, give us a boost.”
Game 3 devolved into chaos once it got out of hand in the third period, but that's very unlikely to happen again. The Oilers know what's at stake; it's now up to them to steal a win in Florida and get the series back on even terms.
Puck is set to drop just past 8:00 p.m. ET from Amerant Bank Arena.
