The Edmonton Oilers have lived to fight another day after steamrolling the Vancouver Canucks in Game 6 on Saturday night.
It was a game that had all eyes fixed on the Oilers’ net as goaltender Stuart Skinner made his return after having sat out in both Games 4 and 5 with backup Calvin Pickard filling in.
the 25-year-old Skinner had been shaky in his previous three starts against the Canucks, but he regained his form when he needed it most, stopping 14 of the 15 shots he faced to force an all-important Game 7 in Vancouver.
After the game ended, Oilers captain Connor McDavid chatted with Sportsnet’s Gene Principe and heaped a lot of praise onto his goaltender.
“We never had a doubt, honestly,” McDavid said. “He’s a battler, he’s always been a battler, and our team always responds and he’s no different. He responded great and gave us a good performance.”
The @EdmontonOilers captain joins @GenePrincipe following a Game 6 win. pic.twitter.com/dG4GfdpiIP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 19, 2024
The Oilers superstar continued to say good things later on after the game as he took the podium alongside Zach Hyman. Daily Hive got the chance to ask McDavid how he thought Skinner handled the game despite not facing a lot of shots in Game 6.
“I thought early in the game he did a great job of settling the group down, I didn’t think we had a great start,” McDavid explained. “I know they didn’t have many shots, especially through 40 [minutes], but the ones they did I thought were dangerous.
“He was great for us, especially on the kill.”
The kill that McDavid mentioned was a lengthy five-on-three power play for the Canucks in the second period. The score was 3-1 at the time and the chance could have easily swayed momentum into Vancouver’s favour.
Yet, the penalty-killers got the job done and Skinner had a few great saves, including a tricky one from Canucks captain Quinn Hughes through traffic. Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais was on the ice for that kill and echoed McDavid’s sentiments.
“I think the big part of that five-on-three was Skinner,” Desharnais told reporters after the game. “I think he was solid. Every save he made on that five-on-three, he made them look easy.
“He didn’t have that many shots, but the shots he had were Grade A and lots of screenshots which are pretty hard to find for a goalie. I’m not surprised with the way he played tonight. He proved tonight that we can trust him.”
Skinner is now the expected starter for the Oilers when they head back to Vancouver for Game 7 on Monday night.