The Edmonton Oilers dominated the Vancouver Canucks for the better part of the last 40 minutes of Game 3, but it was the visiting team that took the 2-1 series lead.
Edmonton dominated the game on the shot clock, more than doubling up on Vancouver by a margin of 45-18 and limiting the Canucks to just seven shots in the final two periods. The difference in goals during that span was 2-1 for the Oilers, which was one short of what Vancouver was able to muster throughout the game in a 4-3 loss.
In the second period, Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner faced four shots and let in the eventual game-winner. His night was over after the second period as Calvin Pickard came on in relief in what was his first-ever taste of NHL playoff hockey.
Skinner ended the night with a .733 save percentage and was heavily out-duelled by 23-year-old rookie Arturs Silovs at the other end of the ice.
“We need more saves,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters after the game. “Tonight, obviously, I felt like that with [Pickard] going in the third period. Defence, along with goaltending, is very important to winning hockey games.
“It’s gotta be better.”
Elias Lindholm restores Vancouver’s two-goal lead on the power play! 🐳 pic.twitter.com/QHHQbVIsUd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 13, 2024
This isn’t the first time that Skinner has been the subject of goalie controversy in the playoffs with the Oilers. The same narrative crept around in last year’s second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights and there was a lot of noise in the first few games in their first-round series against the LA Kings this year.
The difference is that Skinner found a way to correct against the Kings, playing great hockey in the final three games of that series. So far, in three games against the Canucks, Skinner has allowed 13 goals and has a save percentage of .789.
BROCK STAR! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/0RbXffLqOt
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 13, 2024
You can throw around the fact that a lot of the goals against tonight were not completely on Skinner and that the Oilers’ defensive group could have been better, but that is mostly beside the point.
NHL goaltenders are going to be tasked to bail out their team every so often, especially in the playoffs. No team will get through a Stanley Cup run without winning a few games they probably didn’t deserve. Skinner has to stop some of the shots he is not supposed to save every once in a while, whether it be a good shot or a bad bounce.
Knoblauch didn’t commit to Skinner being the team’s starter when Game 4 takes place on Tuesday night but that he would be back between the pipes at some point.
“Tonight’s one that he would like to have back,” Knoblauch said. “We’ll see what he’s got in the future whether that’s Game 4 or Game 5 or whatever it is. We’ll be seeing Stu again.”
Pickard was perfect in his one period of play, stopping all three shots the Canucks were able to muster in the final frame.
Skinner was requested by media but the Oilers opted not to make him available for comment.