What’s behind the Oiler’s recent run of losing?
By Phil Gretzky
Jack Campbell has gotten off to a rather rocky start here in oil country. Although there’s bound to be an adjustment period for new recruits, Campbell right now sports an ugly .875 sv% and 4.04 GAA. He’s started showing signs of more life in his last couple of starts, but the Edmonton Oilers will not live up to expectations if Campbell doesn’t elevate his game soon.
As for the moustache man, Skinner started off the season strong but predictably has tailed off a bit as his sv% has gone down from .941 to .919 – still very good for a rookie regular, but a noticeable decrease. Very few rookies are capable of carrying the team as a regular, and I see Skinner in the same way now. They’ve shared the load a little more evenly than you would’ve liked so far.
That being said, I always put a caveat on goaltender performance because no matter who is manning the nets there’s always a certain type of a shot that a goalie just can’t stop. Those kind of shots it’s up to the skaters to make sure they don’t get to the net in the first place, or to block them. So it’s often the case that a goalie’s performance is very dependent on the skaters in front of him.
The last two games the team has made more of a commitment to clamping down defensively – let’s see if the goalies can rise along with the rest of them.
After all, a goalie is supposed to be the last line of defense, not the first.