After Viktor Arvidsson's slapshot beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period, cutting the Oilers' deficit to 3-2, the on-screen shots-on-goal counter had Edmonton leading 16-8. In any situation where you're doubling up a team in that category while still losing, it's natural to look to the goalie for blame. And Oiler netminder Stuart Skinner is a ready-made scapegoat.
A career subpar goalie in the playoffs coming off a career-worst third full season in the NHL, the 26-year-old Skinner symbolizes the Oilers' struggle to find a permanent stopper in net worthy of the skaters in front of him. Kings fans relished picking on Skinner early in the first round, and he lost his starting job when his team lost the opening two games. Since he regained his place due to injury, Skinner's been something miraculous, putting up a 7-2 record with the victory on Wednesday. Still, given the way Bobrovsky played in Florida's four wins during the Cup Final last year, and the fairly consistent performances the Panther vet had delivered in these playoffs so far, it was reasonable to single out Skinner as the shaky foundation. Guys like McDavid and Draisaitl have earned the highest level of trust; Stuart Skinner has not.
But in Game 1, by the time the McDavid-Draisaitl combo finally beat Bobrovsky after 19-and-a-half minutes of overtime, Skinner deserved a meaningful share of the credit for the win. Facing 32 shots, he stopped exactly as many as needed, no more and no less. And after a rough beginning, he provided his team with the steadiness they required to make the comeback.
The first Panthers goal wasn't his fault at all, and the second wasn't really either. He got interfered with by Sam Bennett, the Oilers challenged, and the situation room blamed the Edmonton defense for knocking Bennett down. On the ensuing power play for the failed challenge, Florida exploited a yawning gap in the Oiler set-up to give Brad Marchand a go-ahead goal. Then at the start of the second, it was Bennett who scored a much cleaner one on a rush. You might not blame Skinner for any of these individually, but together, the 3-1 score felt like a message that Florida was once again a step ahead of their Albertan foes. Thank goodness, from an Edmonton perspective, that Arvidsson found paydirt on that slapshot, because they badly needed to see just a one-goal margin when the second period eventually came to an end. In that time between 3-2 and intermission, the Oilers had to survive the Panther Vortex, and it was Skinner who guided them to safety.
Edmonton was the aggressor in this game, with the top two lines on the Oilers using speed and skill to challenge their opponents and keep them on the back foot. But the middle portion was when Florida locked into the scariest version of themselves, suffocating Edmonton with repeated pressure. When getting back on defense, they'd typically have one skater hustling to the puck in the Edmonton zone, and when the Oilers tried to hurry possession forward, there were at least three guys on the blue line ready to disrupt any entry. It was a cycle that the Oilers struggled to break, and it produced good chances for the defending champs. All those chances, however, were broken up by the Oiler defense or, failing that, stopped by Skinner. And though Edmonton forced Bob into more explicit heroism by regaining momentum in the third, their goalie had to steer them out of a massive letdown with a few saves early in OT, before his guys settled in. It was nothing individually spectacular, but it was what the Oilers needed, when they needed it. And after the victory, it sounded like Skinner is enjoying a level of self-confidence befitting a goalie on a hot streak—one who doesn't have to worry about being surprised by brand-new experiences.
“When I saw the Cup on the ice last year, I was kind of looking at it with googly eyes,” he said in the postgame. “And this year seeing it, I was here last year. I saw it already.”
I still admire the way that Bobrovsky played in this one. The Panthers' efficiency in the early going, too, is something to worry about for Edmonton. And I have to admit, even though the Oilers worked to minimize the damage, the way Florida took over in the midpoint was both jaw-dropping and also what we've come to expect from this team. All that is to say, there's a lot of series left to play, and plenty of opportunities for the Oilers' belief to crumble. But Stuart Skinner only has to be good enough three more times.
