The Pittsburgh Penguins saw Stuart Skinner make his team debut on Tuesday night. Skinner was traded by the Edmonton Oilers last week, but had his debut delayed by an immigration issue. Now in Pittsburgh, he took to the ice in his new home arena against the team that drafted him back in 2017.
Unfortunately, Skinner and his teammates could not pick up a win. Leon Draisaitl scored his 1000th career point in this contest as part of a four-point game. Connor McDavid also scored four points, including two goals. In the end, Edmonton skated away with a 6-4 victory in a rather high-scoring affair.
After the game, Skinner admitted that the situation was a bit weird. Spending your entire career with one team certainly makes a sudden change a bit jarring. Facing your old team can add to that whiplash.
“It was definitely different. Super weird, like, taking a nap and thinking that I'm playing the old team. So, the first period, I feel like for the first five minutes I kind of had to settle my game in and calm my mind down,” the Penguins goalie said, via team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.
Skinner did enjoy some massive success with the Oilers. In fact, he was a big reason the team won the Western Conference in each of the last two seasons. However, his time with Edmonton was marred by inconsistency. When he was on, he played like one of the best in the world. When he wasn't, though, the results were disastrous.
The former third-round pick is getting a fresh start on a Penguins team looking to make the playoffs. If they can get in, he'll have the chance to prove his doubters wrong. It will certainly be interesting to see how things unfold for Skinner and Pittsburgh moving forward.
