If Stuart Skinner doesn't rebound, neither will the Edmonton Oilers

This isn’t Stuart Skinner’s fault, necessarily, but it’s his problem.

Nine goals have snuck past him in the first two games and a series lead has evaporated, along with home ice advantage and any sense of invincibility the Edmonton Oilers might have had over the L.A. Kings.

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Between the three fluke goals in Game 1 and the seeing-eye shot, the circus deflection and the lucky break that set up Anze Kopitar’s overtime winning breakaway in Game 2, there is no question he and the Oilers have been on the wrong side of fortune so far.

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“Since the third period of Game 1, just some really tough bounces are happening,” said the Oilers goalie. “Every shot they take seems to hit off a guy’s stick, hit off a skate. Their whole team does a really good job of getting traffic. They’re getting some good puck luck right now. That’s how hockey works sometimes.”

The Kings have potted some weird ones, to be sure, but you can’t just shrug Game 2 off to bad luck.

Was Skinner too deep in the net on the OT winner? Should he have saved the Drew Doughty breakaway goal in which the Kings defenceman never even got a shot off? Would it have been nice to come up with a timely stop when Adrian Kempe was all alone in front of him three minutes into the game?

Yes to all.

“Kempe made a nice shot, but it’s a shot that I saw and I can stop a puck like that,” admitted Skinner, who couldn’t do much on Kempe’s double-deflection goal to make it 2-0. “That’s great hand-eye coordination by him. That’s a good goal. Hockey players make great plays. You just got to, you know, move on and move forward.”

EDMONTON, CANADA – APRIL 24: Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings scores against goaltender Stuart Skinner #74 of the Edmonton Oilers during the first period in Game Two of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on April 24, 2024, in Edmonton, Canada. Photo by Codie McLachlan /Getty Images

Goaltending is a coin toss at the best of times. Colorado’s Alexandar Georgiev looked like he was drowning in Game 1 against the Jets (seven goals on 23 shots) but he turned around and stole the show in Game 2 (two goals on 30).

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Eighteen goalies have seen action through the first two games of each series and nine of them have save percentages below .900, including Connor Hellebuyck (.870), Jake Oettinger (850) and Stuart Skinner, who ranks 15th out of 18 at (.857).

It’s a small sample size, littered with lucky goals, but this is not the start Skinner or his teammates were hoping for. After going 5-6 with a 3.68 goals against average, .883 save percentage and getting pulled four times in last year’s playoffs, this is supposed to be his rebound performance, a chance to show that he’s the mature backbone he’s been all season.

Odds are he still will, but now the pressure is just a little heavier after surrendering Game 2 and giving the Kings life.

We’ve seen from Skinner that he is absolutely capable of pulling out of a dive. He had brutal to start this season — worse, even than Jack Campbell, who is buried in the minors right now — and he emerged as one of the top regular season goaltenders in the league.

How confident are you in Stuart Skinner to bounce back? Click here to tell us in the comments

In mid-December he got shelled in Tampa Bay (five goals on 22 shots), then gave up three goals on 21 shots in a loss to the Islanders. After that, he strung together 12 straight wins.

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“I’ve seen him take ownership and accountability and come out really solid and play superbly,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “I have no doubt he can do that. Any time he’s had an off game he’s always been able to play really well for us.”

The Oilers need to see that fire again. Their playoff hopes are resting on it.

But the players in front of him are in the same boat. Drew Doughty shouldn’t be walking in all alone on a breakaway. Yes, Kopitar got a good bounce in OT, but Darnell Nurse was slow to read and react and could only watch the winning goal from a distance. Evan Bouchard and Warren Foegele can’t make those costly gaffes three minutes into the game.

“There is a lot to clean up,” said Knoblauch. “They’re a good team, they’re going to get chances, but we’re giving them some opportunities we didn’t need to. And we didn’t generate as many chances (as Game 1).”

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The Oilers didn’t lose a 2-1 snooze fest, they lost a 5-4 shootout in their own building. That’s not cool. And suddenly a series that looked so under control just a few days ago is now up for discussion.

As is their goaltending. Skinner hasn’t been dreadful. He won Game 1 and was just OK in  Game 2, a night when the breaks were beating the boys. But he needs to be better, because the series is yup for grabs now.

It might not be Skinner’s fault, but it is his problem. 

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