Where do Oilers’ Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard rank among NHL’s 32 goalie tandems?

If you ever think fans of the Edmonton Oilers are hard on their netminders, just remember that those from outside the market are equally as tough on the masked men.

Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff released his rankings of the 32 goaltending tandems in the National Hockey League. The top of the list features Winnipeg Jets backstops Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie, with Jacob Markstrom and Jake of the New Jersey Devils.

If you’re looking for the Oilers’ duo, you won’t find them near the top of the list, nor will you see Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard’s names in the upper half of the league. In order to find Edmonton’s tandem, you’d have to go all the way down to No. 27, behind the Chicago Blackhawks’ Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom, and just ahead of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alexander Georgiev of the Buffalo Sabres.

Larkin explains that, despite the team having overall success with Skinner and Pickard over the past couple of years, the two goalies might also have hindered the Oilers during this recent span.

“But is it possible this duo also cost Edmonton two Cups?” Larkin wrote. “The Oilers were one of the few teams in the league that got below-average goaltending from their No. 1 and No. 2 last year. Each of the teams listed above arguably has a better starter than whoever the Oilers trot out on any given night. I can at least award Skinner and Pickard points for their ability to get hot for extended stretches of time. On the whole, though, it continues to baffle me that a team so hellbent on winning – and keeping superstar Connor McDavid happy – doesn’t worry about its goaltending more.”

It almost goes without saying that Skinner has been a polarizing figure in the provincial capital of Alberta for some time. While the big man has managed to get hot at certain times of the season, including last year’s playoffs, where he posted back-to-back shutouts to eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights, his inconsistencies have led many to want him out of town to better Edmonton’s chances of winning it all.

As for Pickard, who has proven he can be a reliable backup, it’s hard not to think he’s already hit his peak. He played well during the postseason last year, taking over for a struggling Skinner to get the Oilers to the second round. However, thinking of the 33-year-old as someone who can take over the starting job full-time.

The idea of trading to acquire a better goaltender in Edmonton has been tossed around for some time. However, for the time being, it appears that fans will have to hope for Skinner and Pickard to have another strong season if the Oilers want to replicate their recent success.