Watch: Knoblauch Addresses Whether Oilers Have Lost Confidence in Goalies After 9-1 Loss

Sunday, November 09, 2025 ,

Stuart Skinner reacts without his mask on, Edmonton Oilers goali

After a 9-1 loss that Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch called “rock bottom”, he was asked if his team has lost confidence in goalies Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. His answer was very telling. Watch for yourself, at the 2:45 mark (h/t Mark Spector):

Yikes. Not the biggest vote of confidence. Knoblauch had a tough time masking the truth, hesitating for several seconds while contorting his face, before trying to cover up with a “I… don’t …believe so…” before going on to talk about the number of chances his team is giving up and insisting that goaltending isn’t their biggest problem.

The lopsided drubbing saw the Oilers tie their franchise record for their largest defeat ever on home ice.

During the Saturday night shellacking at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, a game Knoblauch had called a ‘litmus test’ type of game to see where his team is at, Skinner was pulled in the second period after surrendering four goals on just 13 shots. Calvin Pickard relieved him, but certainly didn't do anything to boost the confidence of the troops, allowing five goals on 21 shots.

Knoblauch hopes Oilers hit ‘rock bottom’ in 9-1 loss to Avalanche 

Overall, Knoblauch said the team really needs to start looking at themselves in the mirror. The Oilers are now 6-6-4, on a three-game losing streak, and tied for second-last place in the Pacific Division.

“Tonight, I definitely hope this is rock bottom for us. I hope this wakes up a lot of guys and we understand that we've got a lot of growing to do to become a good hockey team, like our expectations are for ourselves."

Goaltending, of course, despite the coach’s suggestion, has been the biggest question mark for the Oilers for two or three seasons now, and despite some other glaring flaws that are clearly surfacing this year, their two consecutive  unsuccessful trips to the Stanley Cups Finals might have turned out otherwise had they had that true stopper between the pipes. 

Mark Spector of Sportsnet was even more direct after Saturday’s Skinner performance:

“Either they quit on him or they quit on themselves, but either way, what we saw Saturday tells us they are done with this netminder as their unchallenged No. 1.”


Photo:  Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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