While a lot of the discussion after Game 3 of the Pacific Division Final between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers is about what happened following the final buzzer, there is a lot of concern about what is going on between the pipes in Edmonton.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots through two periods on Sunday night. It was the sixth time in eight playoff starts that the 25-year-old has allowed three or more goals. In three games against the Canucks, Skinner has yet to face 25 shots. He wouldn’t have hit that mark had he stayed in the whole game, as Calvin Pickard made just three saves in relief.
The Oilers ended up losing 4-3, despite outshooting Vancouver, 45-18.
Now, the question heading into Game 4 on Tuesday is whether or not head coach Kris Knoblauch should go back with Skinner. Or, give Pickard a shot, despite having made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut on Sunday.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk give their thoughts on who the Oilers should start.
Frank Seravalli: Stuart Skinner has gotten the wheels beaten off of him in this series by Arturs Silovs. We got a larger sample size to know now that it’s fair to say that Skinner is cracking under the pressure of the playoffs…In the salary cap era, Stuart Skinner has the worst save percentage of any goaltender with at least 15 games played (.881). It’s just not good enough. No team can win with goaltending of that magnitude.
Now, Kris Knoblauch has a really significant dillema and decision on his hands. I don’t think anyone feels too comfortable with Calvin Pickard…no easy decision here. I would go with [Calvin] Pickard, because I’d want to change it up, and I think that the number of chances and shots that the Oilers are giving up are so low that you don’t need A+ goaltending…you just need passable.
You can watch the entire episode, and full episode here…
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