3 reasons why Stuart Skinner is a prime candidate to win the Vezina Trophy

Skinner was a major reason for the Oilers winning streak

Let’s relive the Oilers 16-game winning streak, which saw Skinner starting 12 of those 16 contests. His 12-0-0 record is self-explanatory, but Skinner’s 0.950 save percentage and 1.41 GAA were top-notch, and it completely disregarded what was a rough start to the season. 

Between his first start on October 11th and his final start of the Oilers streak on January 27th, Skinner boasted a 23-9-1 record, a 0.910 save percentage, two shutouts, and a 2.44 GAA. Those are potential Vezina numbers, and even when you add in the three weeks following the streak, he still had a cumulative 0.901 save percentage at the time, which is above average as far as the 2023-24 season goes. 

But let’s look beyond just the numbers of the Oilers winning streak and instead check how the team performed during that frame with Skinner in the net. It began on December 21st, with Calvin Pickard between the pipes before Skinner took over for 12 of the next 15, and he still faced a fair 28.4 shots on goal per game.

Epic numbers, to say the least, but it’s not the only time Skinner has gotten hot throughout the 2023-24 season. And when he’s on, he’s better than most of the league’s netminders.