A second-round reset paid off for Oilers’ Stuart Skinner

Sometimes a break is all we need in life, and it appears Stuart Skinner is no different.

The Edmonton Oilers’ netminder gave up four goals in 40 minutes of Game 3 of the team’s second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks, and did not play in Games 4 and 5, with Calvin Pickard taking the crease.

It appeared that the Oilers would be going with Pickard the rest of the way, but when the team was down 3-2 and needed a win in Game 6, they went back to Skinner, who allowed just three goals in Games 6 and 7, helping Edmonton win the series.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen are joined by former NHL netminder Carter Hutton to discuss how Skinner’s looked through the postseason, his so-called “reset,” and how he can help them win in their third-round series against the Dallas Stars.

Colby Cohen: I want to talk a little Stuart Skinner. Him losing his net for a few games in the second round against the Canucks was a big story, then he comes back in Game 6 and 7 and puts on a really good showing.

From a goalie’s viewpoint, did you see technical differences in the way he played? Was it confidence related? I know we always talk about the “reset,” that seems to be the popular word of the hour in the NHL. From yours eyes, what did you see?

Carter Hutton: I think you’re right, it was a little bit of a reset and for me, I believe it was confidence. I think this is something that isn’t foreign to Skinner: at times he’s been rock solid and at times he struggles. He kind of fails the eye test when things aren’t going well: he’s a little more scrambled, he’s outside of his post, he fights rebounds and he doesn’t track the puck as well.

I think it was a great break to have a veteran like Pickard come in and seal the gap, calm things down. Then Game 6 was a great situation where they protected him and didn’t allow a lot of shots from the Canucks. For him, if Skinner can keep it to two or three goals a game, I think he can be a difference maker for the Oilers team.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…