Oilers' Stuart Skinner Should Be Dropped To 3rd Goalie Option After Game 3 Loss

It was very unfortunate that Calvin Pickard couldn't go in Game 3 for the Edmonton Oilers after they had won six games in a row with him in the net. Stuart Skinner has had a tough 2024-25 season and it carried over into the playoffs in a worse way. He is now 0-3 with a 5.36 GAA and .817 SV% while Pickard is 6-0 with a 2.84 GAA and .888 SV%.

While Pickard's numbers aren't incredible, he has been able to make that extra save when it counts to help the Oilers win games. If Pickard can't go in Game 4, the Oilers have to choose Olivier Rodrigue to start, even with zero playoff experience and only one NHL start.

The Oilers have played with such confidence in front of Pickard as he's given the team more of a chance to win and more hope. It completely changes in front of Skinner. While not all of the goals against him in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights were his fault, he was once again unable to make the save when it counts and was nowhere in the frame of the net when the game winning goal at 0.4 seconds left in the game was scored.

The three worst games for the Oilers by far have been in all three games that Skinner has been in net. They have dominated for the majority of the rest of the six games. Skinner might have taken the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final last season, but it is very different this year. Skinner figured it out halfway through last season and the Oilers didn't trust Pickard as much at that point. He played great for the most part for the last 50+ games, whereas he hasn't been able to string together good games at all this season and has completely lost his starting job.

Even though there is next to no experience for Rodrigue in net in the NHL, the Oilers have a better chance of playing a better game as they don't expect soft goals and a lot of shots to go in with him. He is looked at as how the Oilers used to see Skinner, a talented up-and-coming goalie. If Pickard is unable to go, there's nothing worse that can happen with Rodrigue in net than if the Oilers were to once again go back to Skinner with his horrible numbers. This may also mark the end of his tenure with the Oilers as a championship quality team can't have goaltending like this and expect to win.