Edmonton Oilers goalkeeper Stuart Skinner's topsy-turvy 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs continued on Saturday when Oilers head coached Kris Knoblauch confirmed Calvin Pickard will start in net during a pivotal Stanley Cup Final Game 5 against the Florida Panthers.
In a postseason run that has been anything but ordinary, chances are the saga isn't over yet.
Skinner struggled in the first four games of the series, allowing an average of four goals per game and posting a 86% save percentage.
The five-year veteran was pulled during the first intermission of Game 4 after allowing three goals. During the second and third periods and overtime, Pickard had 22 saves on 23 shot attempts as Edmonton outscored Florida, 5-1, and evened the series at two games apiece.
Pickard earned the right to start Game 5, but Skinner should stay prepared.
As team captain Connor McDavid noted, the Oilers didn't do much to help Skinner.
"I don't think Stu was at fault for any of the goals the other night," McDavid said, per ESPN NHL reporter Greg Wyshynski.
"I think it was victim of circumstance and Picks came in and gave us a chance," he added.
To McDavid's point, if the Oilers continue racking up penalties and giving the Panthers power play opportunities, Pickard could struggle just as much as Skinner.
The Panthers broke the seal in Game 4 with a 5-v-3 goal, and their second goal came following Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm's high-sticking penalty against Panthers forward Brad Marchand.
Florida had 11 power play opportunities, including one 5-v-3, in Game 3's 6-1 romp, converting three into a goal.
Edmonton's skaters didn't make Skinner's job any easier, and if they give the Panthers advantageous situations against Pickard, Florida will likely capitalize.
Knoblauch also shared the decision to bench Skinner wasn't easy based on his performances the deeper a playoff series goes.
"It's just how well he's played in the second half of a series," Knoblauch told reporters after Game 4.
"Here's a guy that's going to just continue to get better as this series goes on. Hopefully, we've got a few more games where he can stand up and play really well," Knoblauch added.
Skinner had consecutive shutouts in Games 4 and 5 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. Since the start of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Skinner had 15 Games 4-7 starts before his disastrous first period against the Panthers.
Per Stathead data, in those 15 previous late-series games, Skinner had a .941 save percentage, and the Oilers were 14-1, with their only loss in Game 7 of last season's Stanley Cup Final.
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On Monday night’s episode of the Sick Podcast, Tony Marinaro and Pierre McGuire discussed the Canadiens’ power-play and just how good it can be with the new additions made this summer. If things go as planned, the Habs may just have one of the most dangerous power plays in the NHL. McGuire mentioned that he would be disappointed if the Habs power-play doesn’t run at a 24% success rate. He reasons that the Habs will have two very distant looks and have two strong units that will be led by an elite puck mover (Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson) and a pure sniper (Cole Caufield and Patrik Laine) on both units. McGuire also said that he expects the Canadiens to continue running Nick Suzuki the full 2 minutes on the power-play. This likely will happen, as there isn’t another offensive centre on the roster that can be trusted to put up points. When McGuire mentioned how there are two distant units, he was specifically referring to the difference between Hutson and Dobson. With Dobson, the Habs have a quarterback who also has a strong shot from the backend. However, with Hutson, the Habs have an elite decision-maker who can create chances for his teammates by out-maneuvering his opponents so flawlessly, as we saw this past season. Two x-factors that the Canadiens will have on the power-play are Juraj Slafkovsky and Zachary Bolduc. A year older, Slafkovsky should be stronger and harder to move from in front of the net. If he sticks to the net front presence like he should on the man-advantage, he could score close to 10 goals on the power-play from cleaning up garbage in front of the net or deflecting pucks. Then you have Bolduc, the shooting threat from the bumper. Towards the end of last season, Bolduc was one of the best shooters from the bumper in the entire league. Finally, the Canadiens have an elite young talent like Ivan Demidov that can be a dual threat as a shooter or passer. Demidov’s spot is likely to be on the right half wall where fellow-Russian Alex Kovalev used to do his work. The Habs have lacked a true threat from the right half wall since Alex Galchenyuk was traded in 2018. Now, with true threats on both sides of the ice, the Habs won’t be as predictable as they were in the early years of the rebuild. According to McGuire, he expects the Habs to essentially have their power-play be as good as it was during the 2007-08 season when Kovalev was the team’s main offensive star. Last year, the Canadiens’ power play was above 20% for the first time in seven seasons, but with the additions of Ivan Demidov, Noah Demidov, Zach Bolduc and a healthier version of Patrik Laine, there is no reason why the Habs couldn’t improve on that. I truly don’t remember a time in my lifetime when the Habs had two power-play units that were legitimate threats when on the ice. Even during the years when the Habs had a top 5 power-play, the team only had one dominant unit on the team. The Habs may be one of the few teams that can ice two dangerous power-play units at all times, which is why McGuire may have a point in thinking the Habs should have a 24% success rate on the power-play. Looking at last season’s power-plays around the league, it seems like a plausible expectation for the Canadiens to score on 24% of their power-plays. The Habs had the 21st-best power-play last year despite having their best man advantage in years. If everyone stays healthy for most of the year, the Habs could have multiple players who score 10+ power-play goals and finish among the top 10 power plays overall in the league. What are your expectations for the power-play in 2025-26?
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard patched things up Sunday after years of feuding. But even while describing their rapprochement, O'Neal couldn't keep from teasing his longtime nemesis. The "Big Aristotle" was at the BIG3 playoffs Sunday to watch Howard's L.A. Riot play the Chicago Triplets. In the middle of describing to Rachel Nichols how he and Howard had made peace, O'Neal broke off his explanation to make fun of Howard for missing a dunk. The two Hall of Fame centers had sparred for years, despite their common ground as former members of the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. Some of the tension seemed to be due to Howard adopting O'Neal's "Superman" nickname, though O'Neal claimed to Nichols that he was simply being tough on Howard to motivate him. That explanation doesn't account for the time O'Neal mocked Howard for playing basketball in the Taiwanese league or the decade-plus he's spent roasting Howard on his podcast, in public appearances and on "Inside the NBA." Still, it appears that the two have made peace. Despite O'Neal being left off the original list of presenters, he insisted that he'll be among a group of Hall of Famers inducting Howard Sept. 6, including Dominique Wilkins, Robert Parish, Dennis Rodman and Patrick Ewing. It means that two of the most dominant big men of their eras have finally buried the hatchet. It's added a new level of interest to the Hall of Fame ceremonies, and it should be a sweet moment between O'Neal and Howard. As long as Howard doesn't mention Superman.
The Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly had a few quality undrafted free agents during 2025 training camp and preseason, as many of them have put up an actual fight to make it to the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, there is very little room on the team, so some very tough decisions will have to be made on that front. Guys like Max Hurleman and JJ Galbreath have been stating their case throughout camp and into gameday, giving the coaching staff a good problem. One decision was surprisingly easy, however. During his weekly Q A chat, insider Ray Fittipaldo was asked about undrafted rookie Roc Taylor and why he was let go right after the preseason Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spoke about something that happened right before that contest. "[Roc Taylor] actually got in Tomlin's doghouse at the joint practice," Fittipaldo said. "Not sure if that's the sole reason he was cut, but maybe part of it." Fittipaldo would not expand on what happened, but head coach Mike Tomlin saw enough of the rookie before gameday. It looked like Taylor would at least get first dibs on a practice-squad spot if he was released on roster cutdown day, but now, it seems like his chance of developing in Pittsburgh is gone entirely. Now, he is just hoping someone gives him a call for a chance to be on a practice squad elsewhere. It seemed like Taylor's stock was rising after preseason Week 2. Hurleman had a very rough game, and the former Memphis Tigers standout had three receptions for 39 yards against the Bucs. He was the second-leading receiver on the team, only behind Roman Wilson. It looked like he was forcing himself onto a roster spot, but apparently, Tomlin might have just been waiting until after the game to tell him to pack his bags and try again somewhere else. Steelers' recent receiver issues make Taylor cut even more concerning What makes this decision even more rough is the fact that the Steelers have three receivers who are not healthy at all. Calvin Austin III is trying to return after missing multiple weeks of practice with an injury, Ben Skowronek recently developed a toe issue and utility man Jonnu Smith has barely participated in practice since July. Spots were opening up for undrafted rookies to take, but Taylor may have said or done something inexcusable enough to lose that chance. The Steelers entered training camp with questionable wide receiver depth, and now it's only more concerning. Wilson's recent development has been the bright spot of the preseason at that position, as Scotty Miller has been taking over the role of WR3 since the game against Tampa Bay. That's why they brought in another possibly injured veteran, Gabe Davis, for a visit, and now they may be hoping that he does not sign elsewhere. Instead of Taylor taking the opportunity to push for a roster spot, guys like Hurleman and Brandon Johnson will be looking to make the team and stick around as numerous players recover from their injuries. With Davis having another visit on Wednesday and the Steelers playing in the preseason finale on Thursday, he most likely will not be signed until after that game. That means the bubble players can prove to the team that they don't need him. It's not public in regards to what Taylor did to get himself in trouble, but he could have had this prime opportunity to be on an active roster as an undrafted rookie. He could have easily been above Hurleman and Johnson on the depth chart. Instead, he is just hoping he makes any team's practice squad now.
Major League Baseball announced that Mariners outfielder Víctor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league. The suspension will begin as soon as Robles is reinstated from the injured list, though Robles has filed an appeal and the suspension is being held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported these details prior to the official announcement. Divish notes that the M’s would have to play a man short during the suspension. Robles has been on the injured list for most of the year. Back in early April, he made a sensational catch in San Francisco but crashed into the sideline netting and dislocated his left shoulder, causing a small fracture in the humeral head of said shoulder. A week ago, he was finally able to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. During that week, he was hit by pitches multiple times, as shown in this video breakdown from Jomboy Media. Although he was hit five times, only three of them were technically counted as hit-by-pitches, with the other two counting as swings. Regardless, the final incident saw Robles hit by Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators. Of the five times Robles was hit, three of them were out of the hand of Estes, though the final two were counted as swinging strikes. Regardless of how it was scored, Robles was clearly upset and threw his bat toward the pitcher’s mound. It doesn’t appear as though it hit Estes or anyone else, but MLB is understandably taking a firm stance against a player using his bat in this dangerous manner and sending Robles a message. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke to members of the media, including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, noting that the club tentatively planned to reinstate Robles from the IL next week but those plans may change with the suspension. Divish suggests that perhaps the best plan is to reinstate Robles on Sept. 1, so that the M’s can at least play with a 27-man roster, though that would push his reinstatement into the middle of September. Reinstating him earlier would mean playing with a 25-man roster for a while, though that would also mean Robles would be able to be reinstated for more games. It’s also unclear how long the appeals process will take. Sometimes, players appealing a suspension will hang in limbo until their team goes to New York, where the MLB head offices are located. The M’s don’t play in New York again this year, so it’s not clear when the appeal would be scheduled for. Robles being in the minors could also complicate factors. The M’s would surely love for the appeal to drag out into the winter and for Robles to serve his suspension next year, since they are currently in a playoff race, though MLB presumably wouldn’t let it play out like that.