Few issues have plagued the Edmonton Oilers more this season than their goaltending.

The one-two punch of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/were-not-where-we-want-to-be-oilers-gm-stan-bowman-perplexed-by-sluggish-start-to-season">have struggled this season</a>, combining for a .879 save percentage that ranks 27th out of 32 teams, as only the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche have gotten worse numbers.
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While their .892 save percentage at even strength fares better, a staggering .746 save percentage on the penalty kill — nearly .039 percentage points worse than the next team — has been a boat anchor.
Of the two goalies Pickard, the backup, has fared better. He&#8217;s gone 4-3 this season in eight starts, posting a .893 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average, while Skinner has struggled, to the tune of a 7-6-2 record, .882 save percentage and a 3.23 goals against average.
On Monday&#8217;s edition of <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/should-oilers-fans-be-worried-about-stuart-skinners-play">Daily Faceoff LIVE</a>, Frank Seravalli and former NHL goaltender Colby Cohen talked about Skinner&#8217;s game, and if it&#8217;s time to worry:
<blockquote>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.
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.</blockquote>
While there&#8217;s certainly an argument to be made at this time of year about the Oilers&#8217; goaltending, it&#8217;s worth highlighting that slow starts to the season aren&#8217;t anything new for Skinner. The months of October, November and February are far and away the worst of any month for the netminder.
In those months, Skinner has posted a 30-28-5 record, a .896 save percentage and a 3.05 goals against average. In December, January, March and April? A 49-14-7 record, a .916 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165033" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-20.jpg" alt="" width="1310" height="970" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-20.jpg 1310w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-20-300x222.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-20-1024x758.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-20-768x569.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1310px) 100vw, 1310px" />
It gives reason to believe that Skinner, and the Oilers, are due for a rebound in short order, and much like in years past, it couldn&#8217;t come at a better time.
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff/streams">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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Few issues have plagued the Edmonton Oilers more this season than their goaltending.



The one-two punch of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/were-not-where-we-want-to-be-oilers-gm-stan-bowman-perplexed-by-sluggish-start-to-season">have struggled this season</a>, combining for a .879 save percentage that ranks 27th out of 32 teams, as only the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche have gotten worse numbers.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2107" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="325"></div>
While their .892 save percentage at even strength fares better, a staggering .746 save percentage on the penalty kill — nearly .039 percentage points worse than the next team — has been a boat anchor.

Of the two goalies Pickard, the backup, has fared better. He's gone 4-3 this season in eight starts, posting a .893 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average, while Skinner has struggled, to the tune of a 7-6-2 record, .882 save percentage and a 3.23 goals against average.

On Monday's edition of <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/should-oilers-fans-be-worried-about-stuart-skinners-play">Daily Faceoff LIVE</a>, Frank Seravalli and former NHL goaltender Colby Cohen talked about Skinner's game, and if it's time to worry:
<blockquote>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.

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.</blockquote>
While there's certainly an argument to be made at this time of year about the Oilers' goaltending, it's worth highlighting that slow starts to the season aren't anything new for Skinner. The months of October, November and February are far and away the worst of any month for the netminder.

In those months, Skinner has posted a 30-28-5 record, a .896 save percentage and a 3.05 goals against average. In December, January, March and April? A 49-14-7 record, a .916 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165033" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-20.jpg" alt="" width="1310" height="970" />

It gives reason to believe that Skinner, and the Oilers, are due for a rebound in short order, and much like in years past, it couldn't come at a better time.

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff/streams">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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