Jekyll & Hyde: What goes into the ups and downs of Oilers’ Stuart Skinner

One of the most polarizing figures on the Edmonton Oilers roster isn’t captain Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. It is the man between the pipes.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner has often been at the forefront of conversation around the team, usually having to do with his lack of consistency throughout any given season, leaving many to wonder if he can be the guy that can help get the team to the promise land.

However, for the second postseason in a row, he’s overcoming adversity and showing that, while he isn’t a big name like Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy or Connor Hellebuyck, Skinner has the ability to be a difference-maker in the playoffs.

Though he lost the starting job to Calvin Pickard in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings, he picked his game up when he was called back into action against the Vegas Golden Knights and has pushed the Oilers two wins away from a second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

On Monday’s segment of Daily Faceoff LIVE, former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton explains the pendulum of success and failure that is Stuart Skinner.

Carter Hutton: I think chasing the game would be the main thing. When I say chasing the game, I mean staying between our posts and not really chasing plays outside of our net that aren’t going in the net. That being said, it’s a tricky thing to deal with, and something that holds a lot of going back is patience. For Stuart Skinner, when he is at his best, he has his feet underneath him. He’s not too wide. He’s able to move, and he doesn’t get too locked in on that first initial shot. What I’m seeing right now is him managing his depth well in the crease. He’s not getting too far out [or] being too aggressive. He’s letting the game come to him.

It goes hand-in-hand with the way you defend. I think this team is defending harder in the D zone, making the game a little more predictable for Skinner. For him, it’s early in the game, getting into that rhythm, getting the flow going, and then I think there’s a confident Edmonton Oilers team that plays in front of him when he sees those first shots. So, it’s been fun to watch. Less is more for Stuart Kinner would be the best way that I can point his game.