Kris Knoblauch Continues His Trust In Stuart Skinner Despite Game 2 Loss to Florida Panthers

The Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner didn’t start the 2025 playoffs on a great foot. In fact, early on into the season he had to be benched while Calvin Pickard took charge between the poles. It was only when Pickard was injured that Kris Knoblauch brought Skinner back to the ice and gave him a chance to shine, and shine he did with a .944 save percentage and three shutouts since, tying him with none other than the Florida Panthers’ very own Sergei Bobrovsky in terms of shutouts. But things are getting more and more interesting as we progress further into the final series.

Game 1 at Roger’s Place went great for the Oilers, beating Florida 4-3; however, it is important to note that Bobrovsky made 42 saves, whereas Skinner made just 29 (including 24 in a row, but who’s counting?). which only means that Edmonton had more shots on goal than Florida, but Bobrovsky had a higher save percentage for this one particular game. Then came game 2, and the Oilers weren’t looking too bad, but Florida was just looking better, with Brad Marchand in the center. Skinner even managed to stop a few Marchand attempts, one backhand, but it was to no avail, and the goaltender had his first loss in 6 games!

So, understandably, when asked about his goaltender’s performance in game 2 of the final series, Kris Knoblauch stayed loyal to Skinner, saying, “I think Stu had a tremendous game and, there’s  a couple breakaways; one of the goals was going wide, it went off our defenseman’s body in so, there wasn’t much opportunity there you know.” 

NHL, Eishockey Herren, USA Stanley Cup Final-Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers Jun 6, 2025 Edmonton, Alberta, CAN Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand 63 scores the game winning goal against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner 74 during double overtime in game two of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Edmonton Rogers Place Alberta CAN, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xWalterxTychnowiczx 20250606_mcd_tb1_140

Knoblauch said of the game and the rapid pace at which the puck was flying from side to side, not sparing anyone in its range. “Stu’s game has been really good and we’ll need him to continue to do that for us to have an opportunity to win this.”

So clearly Knoblauch thinks that Skinner is a vital part of the Edmonton line up at the moment, even adding, “Stu has been phenomenal since coming back in that Vegas series, and we need him to continue doing that.” However, Skinner also suffered a bit of a collision during the most recent game, and what his performance might look like in game 3 is yet to be seen.

Stuart Skinner’s performance through the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs and what to expect for the remainder of the tournament

As we know, Skinner didn’t come on until Calvin Pickard got injured in game 2 of the series against the Vegas Golden Knights on May 8th. Though Pickard finished the game, he hasn’t returned to play since, and Skinner has been performing incredibly, despite the recent Game 2 loss. However, now the question as to whether the tables have turned arises.

In game 2, Sam Bennett crashed into Skinner after being slid into by Mattias Eckholm. But some seem to think that Bennet went for it regardless of the impact he received from Eckholm, and Skinner was soon on the ground being seen to by medics. Bennett received a penalty for goaltender interference, which in turn helped Draisaitl score for the Oilers, and though Skinner remained on the ice, we can’t know what the aftereffects of the injury are until game 3 on Monday.

It’s important to note that Stuart Skinner also suffered a head injury after a loss against the Stars in March of this year, which is partly why he missed so many games late in the regular season and the start of the playoffs. Hopefully, he isn’t affected by the collision with Bennet, in which case he can have another shot at getting the cup that he and the Oilers almost had last year, with Skinner saying of the near victory, “We lose the Cup last year and we’re back here again being able to get that opportunity, and that’s nothing but complete excitement.” And hopefully, that excitement will be able to see him through.

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