Stuart Skinner was unbeatable on Sunday night, and the Edmonton Oilers are one win away from the second-round. The Oil beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series at Crypto.com Arena, and will have an opportunity on Wednesday to eliminate their Pacific Division rivals for the third consecutive year.
Skinner, who struggled in the first two games of the series, was masterful on the road, going a perfect 33-for-33 to help the squad reach the precipice of Round 2. And the former Calder Trophy finalist shared a comical reaction to the crucial victory afterwards.
“The Kings definitely gave me a hard time out there. I was sweating a lot by the end of the third,” the goaltender admitted, according to the Associated Press. “The guys were grinding for me. When we were getting hemmed in the defensive zone, we were able to win battles along the board and get pucks out.”
The Oilers scored just a single goal of their own in the contest, a powerplay tally from star defenseman Evan Bouchard 11:49 into the second period. The standout D-man ripped his first of the playoffs on a one-timer from above the circle on a pass from Leon Draisaitl. Of course, Connor McDavid also got a touch to help the man advantage improve to a ridiculous 8-for-15 in the series.
Stuart Skinner, Oilers on verge of eliminating Kings yet again
Although it's usually McDavid, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman stealing the show — at least so far in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs — Skinner was the man of the hour after a phenomenal performance.
“Stuart was very solid, that is an understatement in how well he played. He made a lot of key saves for us and the rebound control was really good,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch afterwards, per AP.
“I thought [Skinner] was unbelievable,” Edmonton blue liner Mattias Ekholm echoed, per NHL.com's Dan Greenspan. “I think he has shown that he’s taken steps as a goaltender. I think he’s way calmer. Positionally, very sound right now, and you really have to make a good play to beat him right now, which is obviously a great feeling for us knowing he’s the backbone of our team.”
Skinner became the eighth goalie in Oilers franchise history to record a postseason shutout, per AP, and the first since Mike Smith accomplished the feat twice in the first-round against these same Kings two years ago.
Edmonton needed Skinner to be excellent on Sunday; Los Angeles played a great defensive game and held the high-flying offense to just 13 shots. That's tied for the fewest shots in a playoff game in franchise history, per AP.
“These are the types of games you have to win in the playoffs,” explained veteran Corey Perry, who is no stranger to postseason puck. “It’s not going to be 6-5 or 7-4 every night. You’re going to have to dig deep and play defense and trying to win out. We found a way tonight.”
Skinner was clearly the difference in Game 4, and if he keeps playing like that, the Oilers are going to be a very tough out in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Game 5 goes Wednesday night from Rogers Place in Edmonton as the Oilers look to take out the Kings in back-to-back-to-back fashion.
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