EDMONTON — It is well known that Stuart Skinner does his best to build a protective bubble around himself when it comes to social media, rumours, and the general “peer review” that any goalie gets from fans and media in a Canadian market.
But when your game hasn’t been great, your team has been losing, and it’s the night before the trade deadline, keeping out all the noise as the goaltender of the Edmonton Oilers takes a mighty big set of headphones.
What’s it been like dealing with all the noise?
“I have no idea what’s going on. Zero clue,” Skinner said after an electric 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night.
“But…” We all know, there’s always a but.
“I’ve been around this city long enough (to know) that they’re talking about myself as well. But I’ve got a job to do: stop the puck. I’m just going to continue to do that, whatever anybody says.”
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We’re not going to lie.
There is a faction of Oilers fans (and media) who have flooded social media channels with pleas to Oilers general manager Stan Bowman to acquire some help for Skinner. Or replace him outright, depending on whom Skinner doesn’t read.
But as we put our head down on the pillow on trade deadline eve Thursday, it seemed very unlikely that Bowman would be adding to his tandem. Even if that tandem — much like the team in front of them — hasn’t found much success of late.
So if it’s going to be Skinner or bust for the Oilers this spring, then Thursday’s 26-save performance was an excellent place to start what amounts to a bit of a rebuild of his game, but more so, the defensive posture of the skaters in front of him.
The Oilers have allowed two goals or less twice in their past nine games. This one lasted almost the full 65 minutes before Evan Bouchard finished off a lovely Connor McDavid pass, giving Edmonton just their second win in the past eight games.
“It felt fantastic,” Skinner admitted. “I haven’t gotten a win in a while, obviously, so Bouch putting that puck in the net… I was extremely happy.”
The Canadiens are a treasure to watch, as they rip around the ice in search of one of those wild-card spots out East.
Young, speedy, not too disciplined… They’re a quick-strike bunch that needs a sliver of space to create a jailbreak.
“Especially that first line. They definitely know how to skate,” Skinner said. “They know how to get their chances, and when they do, they’ve got great players with some fantastic shots. Definitely high I.Q.”
Edmonton had the puck for more of Thursday’s game, but Montreal’s chances seemed more dangerous. They’ve always got a forward hanging around behind the defence, or a speedy winger cutting through the middle looking for pass.
A similarly built Anaheim team pumped six goals past Edmonton’s goalies on Tuesday, so Skinner’s work was timely as the Oilers try to get out of a funk that has lasted far too long for their liking.
“(Skinner) looked really sharp right away,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “There were some glove hand saves, two probably in the first 10 minutes, and he just made it look so easy. You knew he was dialled in and ready to play tonight.”
Knoblauch hasn’t had this calibre of goaltending on enough nights this season. He knows it, Skinner knows it, everybody knows it.
“Your starting goalie is a big part of your team and we need him playing well,” Knoblauch said. “Tonight he absolutely came up with some big saves in the first period, and definitely in the overtime.”
Big winger Max Jones made an auspicious Oilers debut, floating a nice pass to Corey Perry for an assist just 9:34 into his first game as an Oiler.
“My game feels like it’s in a good spot. I just felt like I was playing like I was free out there,” said Jones, who came as advertised with some hits off the forecheck and a straight-ahead-Fred kind of game. “When I got drafted by Anaheim I was a power forward type player, and that’s kind of the way that I’ve always played. They (the Oilers coaches) just told me to go out there and just be me, and I knew what that meant. It was easy to play out there tonight.”
McDavid had a pair of helpers, and Leon Draisaitl sniped his league-leading 46th, but on a night when the Oilers were without regular blue-liners Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg, a defensive effort like this one was a sight for sore eyes.
As was Skinner, the guy on whom it appears the Oilers Stanley Cup dreams will ride or die.
“I’ve got to realize that that’s an everyday thing for me, showing up that way and being able to play those types of games,” Skinner said. “I’ve got that in me to continue for the rest of the year and going into playoffs.
“So it’s good for the confidence, but I expect that out of myself.”
