Will a Stanley Cup change the narrative around Stuart Skinner?

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner was being dragged through the mud by fans and media for his poor play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And why wouldn’t he be? He had the worst save playoff percentage of any goaltender in the salary cap era and the Oilers continued to come up short even with the best offense in the NHL.

But give credit to the 25-year-old netminder. He stuck it out, his coach and teammates believed in him and he has become a huge positive storyline in the Stanley Cup Final.

In Games 4-7 in these playoffs, Skinner has gone 9-0 with a .938 save percentage and 1.56 goals-against average. That includes stopping 33 of 34 in Game 4 and 32 of 25 in Game 5. That is lights-out goaltending.

But is his success a byproduct of better defending and more offensive support? Or has he found a new level that many believed he would never reach? More importantly, would bringing the Oilers back from 3-0 to win their first Stanley Cup in 24 years change the narrative surrounding him?

Tyler Yaremchuk: Stuart Skinner. His numbers in Games 4-7 of series, absolutely remarkable. And maybe what’s more impressive than that is in each of the last two games, he’s come through with timely, big saves early.

Frank Seravalli: Does the narrative around Stuart Skinner change if he wins the cup? Or will he always be the NHL backup-caliber goalie who played with a really good offense in front of him?

Carter Hutton: I think for now, that is going to be the case. [Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard and the points and Oilers offense is always casting a big shadow. Especially for a goalie that has a sub-900 save percentage here in the Stanley Cup Final. But I also think he’s going to be a legend forever if they can get this job done and come back from that… It’s hard to take away his credit, what he’s done is so amazing. But I also feel like there’s a little bit of that shadow cast because of McDavid.

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