The Edmonton Oilers are making a change between the pipes.
Ahead of Saturday’s Game 3 versus the Pacific Division rival Vegas Golden Knights, Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner confirmed to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug that he will start in goal.
The change comes despite the Oilers carrying a two-game series advantage and netminder Calvin Pickard posting an .878 save percentage and 2.66 goals-against average in his two wins this series. In all, through seven appearances in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Pickard has recorded six victories coupled with an .888 save percentage and 2.84 goals-against average.
For Skinner, the 26-year-old Edmonton native has not played since the first two games of the opening-round series versus the Los Angeles Kings in which he stumbled with an .810 save percentage and 6.11 goals-against average in a pair of losses. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch ultimately opted for a change in net, with Pickard’s entry then seeing the Oilers piece together four consecutive victories to take the series in six games. In all, it marked the fourth-straight spring in which the Oilers have ousted the Kings in the opening round.
Originally chosen by Edmonton in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Skinner has since spent part of five seasons with the Oilers in which he has established a 98-56-14 career record alongside a .905 save percentage, 2.76 goals-against average, and seven shutouts. This season, Skinner won 26 of 51 games while posting an .896 save percentage, 2.81 goals-against average, and three shutouts.
En route to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Florida Panthers in a seven-game set, Skinner won 14 of 23 games in which he registered a .901 save percentage, 2.45 goals-against average, and one shutout.
Per PuckPedia, Skinner has one year remaining on a three-year contract that carries a $2.6-million average annual value.
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