Stuart Skinner: Oilers 'starting to really gel as a group'

Are the Edmonton Oilers back?

Well, Stuart Skinner at least believes his team's collective effort during Saturday's 4-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche was a promising sign.

"Yeah," the goalie said when Sportsnet's Scott Oake asked him if the Oilers have found their game. "I think we're starting to really gel as a group. ... Being able to stick together, really keep things tight in all three zones, I think you see that we're starting to just really trust each other out there. It's lovely to see."

Edmonton entered the 2024-25 season with Stanley Cup aspirations after falling just one game short of winning it all last spring. However, the Oilers toiled in a slow 9-8-2 start that had them outside the playoff picture through the first month of the campaign.

Skinner's club has since turned things around, winning four of its last five games to move into third place in the Pacific Division with a 13-9-2 record.

Saturday's victory was one of the Oilers' most complete games of the campaign. Eleven different players registered a point against Colorado, while depth pieces Kasperi Kapanen, Vasily Podkolzin, and Brett Kulak all found the back of the net.

Skinner was also excellent, turning aside 27 of 28 shots for a .964 save percentage. He saved 1.55 goals above expected at all strengths, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Despite his strong performance, Skinner still owns an underwhelming .887 clip after going 7-6-2 through his first 15 games of the season. He also ranks 64th out of 72 goalies in goals saved above average (minus-6.33) and 57th in goals saved above expected (minus-4.71) in all situations, per Evolving-Hockey.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was pleased with his netminder after he stymied the Avalanche.

"Obviously, it's not the start that (Skinner) wanted, but it wasn't the start our entire team wanted. ... Since I've been here, I've known a goalie that's pretty much been very solid and put in a lot of good performances," he said.

"Tonight (was) just another one."

Skinner responded affirmatively when asked if Saturday's showing is the kind of game he can build on.

"I think it's just continuing to trust the process, keep on moving forward here," he said. "It's a good game, some things that I can learn and get better at and just keep on growing."

The Oilers will look to pick up their fourth straight win Tuesday against the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.

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