"Isn't where it was last year": Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch makes his feelings known about goalie Stuart Skinner's current form 

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Nov 22, 2024 06:57 GMT

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch made his feelings known about goalie Stuart Skinner's current form, noting that he hasn't been as consistent this season.

This was evident during the Oilers' frustrating 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild at home on Thursday. Skinner had an underwhelming performance between the pipes, allowing five goals and posting a save percentage of .808 after making 21 saves on the night.

Knoblauch said that Stuart Skinner's performance has not been at the same level as the previous year when he was one of the best goalies in the league.

"His game isn’t where it was last year," Knoblauch said as per Jason Gregor's post on X/Twitter. "When I was here I thought he was one of the top goalies in the league. If he had a bad game, he’d bounce back the next night…."

Knoblauch also stressed the importance of the team being more predictable in front of Skinner so that he can better anticipate incoming shots.

“We need to be more predictable in front of him so he knows where the shots are coming from. Tonight was not a predictable night for a goalie,” he added.

Stuart Skinner has a 6-6-2 record this season, with a 3.33 GAA and an .876 SV%. The Oilers have Connor Pickard as the backup goalie, who's posted a record of 4-3-0 with a 2.44 GAA and a .893 SV% in eight games.

Stuart Skinner continues to struggle as Oilers lose to Wild

On Thursday, the Oilers hosted the Wild at Rogers Place. Edmonton suffered a disappointing 5-3 defeat to bring its season record to 10-9-2 after 21 games.

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for the Oilers just 27 seconds into the first period. Matt Boldy then tied the game 1-1 for the Wild at 9:56 into the period.

In the second period, the Wild dominated the Oilers, with goals from Marcus Foligno, Marcus Johansson, and Frederick Gaudreau giving the visitors a 4-2 lead. Corey Perry scored the only goal for the Oilers during the period.

Gaudreau netted his second of the night at 9:50 of the third period, extending the Wild's lead to 5-2. Jeff Skinner then scored for the Oilers with less than one minute to go into the final period, bringing the final score to 5-3 in favor of the Wild.

The Edmonton Oilers are fourth in the Pacific Division with 22 points.

Stuart Skinner will hope to bounce back when the Oilers host the New York Rangers (12-5-1) at Rogers Place on Saturday. The puck drops at 10:00 p.m. ET.