For the Edmonton Oilers, the mission this season is simple—finally lift the Stanley Cup. After two consecutive Final losses, the hunger and frustration in Edmonton are undeniable.
The Oilers have built one of the most dangerous offensive cores in hockey with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but year after year the same concern resurfaces in the playoffs: unreliable goaltending. That concern centers around Stuart Skinner. The 25-year-old netminder has shown flashes of brilliance, but the inconsistency has become impossible to ignore.
Skinner has struggled in the playoffs
In each of the past three playoff runs, Skinner has been pulled at critical moments, forcing the Oilers to turn to his backup in a desperate attempt to salvage games. For a team built to win now, that’s a problem they can’t afford to drag into another season.
There are valid arguments in Skinner’s favor. He’s still relatively young by NHL goaltending standards and has had stretches where he looked every bit like a future No. 1. The Oilers even made a coaching change this offseason, hoping that fresh direction will help him develop the consistency needed to thrive in the postseason spotlight. But Edmonton doesn’t have the luxury of patience.
With McDavid and Draisaitl in their prime, the window to win is wide open—and it won’t stay that way forever. This is especially true with the questions surrounding McDavid's contract talks.
Early play is a cause for concern
The doubts only grew after Skinner’s most recent outing against the Seattle Kraken. He gave up three goals on just 18 shots, finishing with an .833 save percentage. Performances like that are what fuel the criticism. Fans aren’t asking for Vezina-caliber dominance—they’re simply looking for dependable, playoff-worthy goaltending.
A steady .910 or even .900 save percentage in the postseason could be enough to support Edmonton’s high-octane attack. Instead, Skinner too often posts sub-.800 games when the team can least afford it.
These struggles have even caused fans to cling onto hope for waiver wire pickups in net, like the recently waived Connor Ingram.
This season, the margin for error is smaller than ever. Edmonton’s offense, while still dangerous, isn’t expected to be as explosive as in past Cup runs. That means the Oilers cannot mask poor goaltending with sheer scoring power. Skinner doesn’t need to be perfect, but he does need to be accountable. Outings like the one against Seattle can’t become the norm—not in a season where the stakes are this high.
The Edmonton Oilers are running out of excuses. If Stuart Skinner can’t steady his game and give his team a fighting chance, the dream of finally bringing the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton could slip away yet again.