'Stu was our best killer': Darnell Nurse gushes over Stuart Skinner’s monster display at MSG

At Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, Stuart Skinner turned aside all 30 shots he faced to backstop the Oilers to a 2–0 victory over the New York Rangers. It was his eighth career shutout and it came in a game where the Rangers threw plenty of traffic his way.

There was a glove save on Sam Carrick from in tight with two and a half minutes remaining, Skinner denied Will Cuylle earlier off a dangerous turnover, and during that five-on-three penalty kill, he kicked away three rapid-fire chances from Artemi Panarin to preserve a fragile 1–0 lead.

By the third period with the Rangers pressing for an equalizer, he only seemed to grow sharper with every shift. Post-game, defenceman Darnell Nurse was absolutely glowing in his praise and for good reason.

Darnell Nurse credits Stuart Skinner for Oilers shutout

Nurse was quick to point out that the shutout started in net. When asked about the Oilers’ perfect night on the penalty kill, Nurse didn’t hesitate to point to the goaltender.

He credited Skinner for the Oilers penalty kill that finally looked confident again.

“Stu was our best killer,” he said, a grin creeping in as he spoke. Skinner, he explained, made the kind of timely saves that keep a unit confident and composed. The rest was about getting in lanes and taking away clean looks.

“We were in the right spots,” Nurse said. “When they did get looks, we had sticks or legs on it. It was a good night for the kill, and that’s something we’ve got to keep building on.”

Asked how Skinner’s 30-save effort influenced the group, Nurse said the goaltender’s composure set the tone from start to finish.

“He was huge for us, huge all night. Obviously, there are going to be breakdowns and moments where he’s got to make big saves, and he did that a handful of times for us tonight. So we’re very confident with him back there.”

With this performance, Skinner now has a .942 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average over his first two starts of the season, earning three points for the Oilers.

Kris Knoblauch was all praises for Stuart Skinner

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said afterward that what stood out most about Skinner’s performance was his movement on the night. The Rangers generated far more chances than the Oilers would’ve liked, he admitted, but Skinner handled all of them with poise.

“There were a lot of east–west, lateral plays,” Knoblauch noted adding that Skinner’s quick reads and positioning allowed him to make difficult saves look routine. “He just moved really well tonight,” the coach said, summing up what made the difference.

Knoblauch also credited his goaltender as the backbone of Edmonton’s flawless penalty kill. “Well, the most important thing on a penalty kill is goaltending. And we talked about our goaltender being good—he was very solid. That obviously helped our penalty kill,” he explained.