A look at the three best Oilers on a night when they faced Connor Bedard for the first time, but improved their winning streak to eight games.
The inaugural ‘Battle of the Connors’ turned out to be the must-watch television event the NHL hoped it would be. However, what was most important for the Oilers was that they emerged victorious 4-1, and improved their winning streak to eight games.
As a result, the Oilers now sit just one point out of a playoff spot following Tuesday’s slate of games. From the depths of being tied for the fewest points in the NHL, they now have a winning record for the first time this season.
Connor Bedard proved he was the real deal, including a highlight reel goal which gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead just 3:21 into the game. However, we’re here to focus on the Oilers, with a countdown of their best three players on the night:
3) Stuart Skinner
If you want, you could call Stuart Skinner’s performance run of the mill and just a professional day at the office. At the end of the day he didn’t have that much to do, but still got the job done.
This doesn’t mean Skinner didn’t come up big when facing quality shots, what few there were of them. Most of them came during the opening 20 minutes; the only one which beat him was Bedard’s shot, but not many goalies were going to stop that one.
When it was all said and done, the Edmonton native saved 22 of the 23 shots he faced on the night. With every passing game he’s looked more like the version from last season, who finished as runner up for the Calder Trophy.
Along these lines, Skinner has now won his last seven starts — the first NHL goalie to do so this season — and 10 of his previous 12. During this stretch, he has a .914 save percentage and 2.30 Goals Against Average.
The 25-year-old has come a long way from the goalie who began the season 1-6-1 and at one point had the third-worse save percentage among all NHL goalies. Coincidence or not, his return to form coincided with the decision to assign Jack Campbell to Bakersfield after he cleared waivers.
Postgame, Skinner was asked about how he dealt with the criticism earlier in the season, when things weren’t going well. Speaking to the media, he said:
"“At first I was a little bit frustrated, a little bit upset. You never want to be hearing that from your fans obviously. At the same time I knew I needed to be better. The whole group did, (but) that starts with me. For me it was sticking to it, keep on working on my game and just keep on grinding. Never give up. There’s a lot of that, a lot of perseverance as a complete group.”"
Skinner will undoubtedly face bigger challenges moving forward, compared to the one on Tuesday night. Regardless, he is now providing the type of stability between the pipes, which gives more confidence to the rest of the team.