Should Oilers fans be worried about Stuart Skinner’s play?

The Edmonton Oilers have been a bit inconsistent lately, with only one stretch in the month of November where they’ve won or lost three straight games (and thankfully for them, it was a winning streak).

A big reason for that has been the play of Stuart Skinner in net. When he’s playing well, the team usually wins, but when he’s struggled, the team usually loses.

Carter Hutton and Frank Seravalli talked about Skinner’s game so far this season during The Blue Paint on Daily Faceoff Live.

Carter Hutton: I think you should be worried. This is a point where, again, we’ve touched on the Jekyll and Hyde in his game. We look at it last year, the way he played during the playoffs at times, and at times where he needed to take a sabbatical to kind of regain himself. And I think that’s something when you’re talking about your number one guy, especially on a team that has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and just came from the Cup Final. Yes, there’s been brilliance, but we need more consistent play.

I think for Calvin Pickard, his numbers are what they are. He’s a game above .500%. If your backup goalie can roll around .500% and play solid minutes, that’s fine. But for Stuart Skinner, having an .882% save percentage, and it’s not necessarily the numbers for me with Stuart Skinner honestly, it’s just the eye test. When he is off, it is tough to watch. His game gets sloppy, especially for a bigger guy who lets the game come to him.

When he starts to chase the game and is sliding around a lot, I think it becomes worrisome for Kris Knoblauch and for the Oilers in general. I feel like the players understand when Skinner is on, they feel that, but when he’s off, it’s hard to play your style and brand of hockey when you’re worried about the way your goalie’s playing.

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, that’s an interesting thought I hadn’t considered that perspective of it when it comes to Skinner and his game because you look at it, they’re symbiotic. When the Oilers are on a 16-game run or when they’re winning 24 out of 27, Stuart Skinner has the number one save percentage in the league by a really wide margin. But when he’s struggling, the team’s struggling and vice versa.

You can watch the full episode here…