Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner responds to being pulled after conceding six goals in blowout loss

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Oct 10, 2024 06:04 GMT

Stuart Skinner had a tough night as the Edmonton Oilers lost 6-0 to the Winnipeg Jets in their season opener. The Oilers' starting goalie allowed five goals on just 13 shots before being pulled from the game.

After the loss, Skinner shared his frustration in a press conference, saying:

"It's very frustrating to start like this. It's just not ideal, I don't feel great, but I can't do much about what happened tonight."

Skinner was replaced by Calvin Pickard. He noted his past experiences with being pulled and stressed the need to learn from this setback.

"I'm going to go back to a couple sheets and drop some new things for me to work on and get better from this. I've been pulled before, I've let in five goals in a game before. Obviously, you just don't want to do it first game. You don't want to do it ever, but just get better from this and move on," Skinner said.

The game began poorly for the Oilers, who had high hopes after a challenging playoff run last year. The Jets took advantage of Skinner's struggles, with Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton scoring twice in the first period. Although the Oilers stayed in the game initially, Rasmus Kupari and Dylan Samberg added two quick goals, increasing the Jets' lead to four.

Skinner's night ended when Kyle Connor scored a quick shot, marking his record-setting seventh consecutive goal in a season opener. Despite this rough start, Oilers fans can stay hopeful. Skinner is in his third season as the team's starting goalie and has faced challenges before. Last season, he still managed to win 23 games, even with a lower save percentage.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch discusses Stuart Skinner’s performance after opening night loss

The Oilers have a history of bouncing back from slow starts. Last year, they lost their opener 8-2 against the Vancouver Canucks but made it to the Stanley Cup Final. With 81 games left in the season and stars like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers have the skill to recover.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch also spoke about Stuart Skinner’s performance after the game. He said:

"I don't think any of the goals were bad goals. Sometimes you pull your goalie, it's like 'Ooh, what were you doing?' I don't think it was any of those, but also, I don't think there were any saves, any big ones. We left him out to dry, the defensive lapses, to put him in that positon. It's not fair for any goaltender, but there's a point in the game we had to make that change."

The Oilers need to improve as they prepare to face the Chicago Blackhawks next.