Skinner focused on wins, not stats for struggling Oilers

EDMONTON -- To Stuart Skinner, the only number that matters is his win total for the Edmonton Oilers. The rest are just details.

The 27-year-old goalie is expected to start when Edmonton concludes a seven-game road trip at the Florida Panthers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NHLN, SNW, CITY, SN360).

It will be Edmonton's first trip back to Amerant Bank Arena since losing Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 17, and consequently the best-of-7 series. It's also the site of Edmonton's 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the 2024 Cup Final.

But when the Oilers were departing for the seven-game trip last week, Skinner didn't want to talk about a Cup Final rematch or goals-against average, instead focusing on what he needs to do to get the Oilers some much-needed wins.

"It's not about whether you let in a bad goal or make a huge save, you're just trying to do the best to help your team get the two points," Skinner said. "Whether that's an 8-7 win, that's still a huge win, being able to get two points. As a goaltender, it really doesn't matter what's going on, it just matters if you're able to make a save at the right time and give your team a chance to win, because wins are all that matters."

Wins have been hard to come by lately for Edmonton, and Skinner is facing some criticism because of the Oilers' 9-9-5 start.

He allowed five goals on 20 shots in a 7-4 loss at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, adding to the scrutiny.

Skinner understands that spotlight comes with the job.

"It's definitely tough, but I love that part of the game," Skinner said. "There's that opportunity to show a lot of character with that. It's not about you, it's about the whole team."

The Oilers have struggled defensively, giving up a number of high-quality opportunities. It's resulted in allowing 3.57 goals per game, fifth worst in the NHL.

Skinner is 7-6-3 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .882 save percentage in 16 starts. Per NHL EDGE stats, he has a .758 high-danger save percentage, which is below the NHL average (.810), and has allowed 24 high-danger goals, nearly double the League average (13).

"We don't give 'Stu' much help," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said following the loss in Washington. "You look at these nights where Stu is giving up a lot of goals and you're thinking it's on the goaltending, but we're not making the game easy for him."

Edmonton is also not getting much secondary scoring beyond the top forwards Leon Draisaitl (14 goals) and Connor McDavid (nine goals), who have combined for 23 of the 68 goals the team has scored this season. Forward Jack Roslovic (seven) is the only other Oilers player with more than five goals, and they are 19th in the NHL in scoring (2.96 goals per game); they were 11th last season (3.16).

They are currently sixth in the Pacific Division, but, despite going 2-3-1 in the first six games of the trip, are four points behind the first-place Anaheim Ducks.

"Of course, I can only control so much, but that's my job. My job is to stop the puck, whether people like it or not," Skinner said. "If I'm at the top of my game, we always have a chance to win, if I'm not, there's a good chance we're losing. That's every goalie in the League; if you have a bad night, most of the time, you're not winning the game.

"This is all a really good test for me and a really good challenge for us as a group to go through some adversity early here and we know what that's like, we've been here before."

Skinner is in his fourth season as Edmonton's starter, thrust into the role after Jack Campbell struggled.

Campbell signed a five-year, $25-million contract ($5 million average annual value) with Edmonton on July 13, 2022, but went on to play just 41 games in two seasons before he was sent to the American Hockey League, and later had his contract bought out on June 30, 2024.

Selected by the Oilers in the third round (No. 78) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Skinner is 105-60-17 with a 2.75 GAA and .904 save percentage in 190 games (184 starts). He is 26-22 with a 2.88 GAA and .893 save percentage in 50 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"Skinner has been pretty solid for us this year; he's given us a lot of good performances," Edmonton general manger Stan Bowman told Oilers radio prior to a 5-1 loss in Buffalo on Monday when Skinner allowed four goals on 27 shots. "If there is a positive on that side, it's that Skinner's trending in the right direction, he's shown us that he can win some games."

Bowman pointed to a 2-0 win at the New York Rangers on Oct. 14, when Skinner made 30 saves for the shutout, and a 4-3 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 15, when Skinner made 33 saves, as examples of him being a key reason for a win.

"I thought he stood tall when we were under some pressure from a good team," Bowman said. "So, I think what we're looking for is our goaltending to be solid and in conjunction with that, if our defense can manage the puck better, then I think we're going to be more effective as a team."

Skinner said he's liked his game for the most part this season, although there are areas where he needs to improve.

His last two starts have not been ideal, giving up nine goals on 47 shots. He will be looking for redemption against the Panthers before the Oilers head home.

"I feel like my game has been pretty consistent, been pretty good, but I definitely have a lot of work here to do," Skinner said. "I have to make some timely saves, some saves when we do give up a breakaway, I have to be the guy that comes up with a save.

"There's all these little things and especially as a goaltender, when you get a chance to bail out your team and make a timely save, it can earn you a point or two points. So I think for me, I just have to keep on trying to grow my game, keep on trying to continue my growth and play as hard as I can."