‘We knew it was coming’: Oilers not surprised about Stuart Skinner’s shutout performance in Game 4

Stuart Skinner turned on a dime.

Coming into his Game 4 start against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, the Edmonton native had posted a .817 save percentage across three losses in the playoffs for the Oilers.

Skinner was pulled in favour of Calvin Pickard during the team’s first-round series with the Los Angeles Kings and the Oilers went on to win six consecutive games with their backup between the pipes.

Pickard was injured during Edmonton’s Game 2 win over Vegas last week, forcing the Oilers to go with Skinner for Game 3. He allowed four goals on 24 shots in a 4-3 loss on Saturday, highlighted by a last-second goal that resulted in Skinner taking the brunt of the blame from observers.

After a rough return to the net, Skinner settled down in his second start of the series, stopping all 23 shots Vegas threw his way in a 3-0 victory in Game 4 on Monday. The Oilers played a very strong game in front of their netminder, but Skinner came through with key saves early on and looked as steady as ever while protecting the team’s lead.

There wasn’t any worry in Edmonton’s dressing room that Skinner was going to bounce back and perform like a quality NHL goaltender, considering he helped the team reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last spring. Head coach Kris Knoblauch noted after Monday’s win that Skinner has often come back after poor starts with his strongest performances.

“Stu is an outstanding goalie,” Knoblauch told the media after Edmonton’s 3-0 win Monday. “You know any time that he has a bad game, or with time off, he usually comes back with a really solid game. There’s only so many times that he’s not going to stand on his head or go a long period of time without having a game like that.

“We knew it was coming. He made some really good saves, especially early on when we needed it. Not only did he make all the saves, but I thought he looked very confident doing it.”

It’s been an up-and-down season for the 26-year-old, as Skinner posted a .896 save percentage over 51 appearances for the Oilers this season, the lowest mark in three full seasons in the league. The win was Skinner’s first since April 16 when he stopped 18 of 18 shots in a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks in Edmonton’s final game of the regular season.

During last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, Skinner went 14-9 with a .901 save percentage. He struggled during the second-round series with the Vancouver Canucks and Calvin Pickard started two games for the Oilers in that series, winning one game and losing one. He was dominant in Edmonton’s win in the Western Conference Final, putting up a .922 save percentage against the Dallas Stars.

It was a Tale of Two Skinners during the Cup Final against the Florida Panthers last spring. Between Games 1 and 3, Skinner had a .868 save percentage and the Oilers lost all three games. Between Games 4 and 6, Skinner had a .942 save percentage and the Oilers won all three games. He allowed two goals on 21 shots in a Game 7 performance almost good enough to win the Stanley Cup. Sergei Bobrovsky was better, turning aside 23 of 24 shots in the win.

The Oilers will now head back to Vegas for Game 5, just one win away from finishing off the Golden Knights and advancing to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four years. If Skinner can keep playing like he did in Game 4, Edmonton will be a very difficult team to beat.