Ex-NHL goalie calls out “worrisome” Stuart Skinner

While the goaltending tandem of the Edmonton Oilers which consists of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard isn't anything that would normally strike fear into opposition players, it's been adequate enough to land the Oilers in their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 2006. 

Skinner's performance has been passable for the Oilers, with a 2.50 goals against average but a pedestrian .897 save percentage. Regardless, he was Edmonton's key to victory in their Game 6 clincher over the Dallas Stars, bailing out the rest of his teammates who were outshot 34-10. 

But will it be enough to will the Oilers to victory over the Florida Panthers? Right now, former NHL goaltender and current analyst Carter Hutton is looking back at the series against the Vancouver Canucks in which Skinner struggled and was even replaced by Pickard before returning to the net. 

"You know, honestly, at times, Skinner is a bit worrisome." Hutton said, "You look at the start of that Vancouver series, and he was fighting it.

"Skinner's case is, he just, when he fights it, it's bad, right? He gets sloppy. Kind of similar to Samsonov, I think, visually, you could tell when he's off right? He's outside his post, he's chasing the game."

Even so, Hutton felt that the "reset" that Skinner got while sitting in favor of Pickard was beneficial to him. 

"Whereas when Skinner is on his game, he's big, that's when the game comes to him. I think that little reset, getting Calvin Pickard between the pipes, that helped him out a ton. This is going to be a big matchup." Hutton said.

During his NHL career that included stops with the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes, Hutton amassed a record of 94-90-27 with a 2.76 goals against average, .908 save percentage and 13 shutouts.

Skinner and the Oilers will take on the Panthers in Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Saturday night. 

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