Stuart Skinner Part of a Troubling Trend Across all NHL Goaltenders

PUBLICATION

Ryan Hall
October 30, 2024 (9:36 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Oilers management and their coaching staff continue to look for answers to the reason for the team's slow start for a second season in a row which leads several pundits looking squarely at goaltender Stuart Skinner.

Skinner was anointed the starting goaltender role after the Oilers discovered that former goaltender Jack Campbell could not get the job done due to a variety of reasons. After Campbell's departure to the Bakersfield condors, Skinner took the net and showed over the first two seasons that he was capable of being a starting goaltender with his goals against around 2.65 and his save percentage at .913.

Oilers fans felt they had their starter, and the team awarded him in 2023 a three-year contract extension worth $7.8 million and holding the cap hit of 2.6 million per season. Since that signing, the number one issue that continues to follow Skinner's game is the lack of consistency..

It seems no matter what the Oilers do there's always this issue that Skinner's game could fall off the rails and go for long stretches of inconsistent play which also leads to confidence issues.

Confidence problems can be a killer for a goaltender as all the pressure piles on their shoulders as they are the last line of defense for any team. If they can't get their game going a team can drop fast in the standings and even right out of the playoff picture.

In Skinner's case there has been a noticeable drop in his save percentage as it continues to fall below .900. Even in last year's playoffs where the Oilers went to game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, he held a decent goals against of 2.45 but a save percentage of .901 which is not as spectacular as one team would want.

The save percentage question has been brought up recently as goaltenders across the NHL including skinners continues to decline as it was pointed out in a recent article by Justin Bourne of Sportsnet. It's been pointed out several reasons including smaller equipment for the goaltenders, the net size increasing, and the skill level of star players continues to rise.

Currently, the entire team has been down on itself and not playing to its potential and not all the blame should be pointed to Skinner directly but it's safe to say that right now while the team is mired in this slump it would be great if Skinner can give them that one extra save to help win a few games and take the pressure off the team and maybe go on a run in November even without Connor McDavid.