The Edmonton Oilers have a goaltending problem.

But it may not be in exactly the way you think.

That and more in this edition of…

9 Things

9. Andrew Mangiapane played NHL game #500 Saturday. Mangiapane was a little quiet in pre-season. But he has goals in back-to-back regular season games.

8. You will see a million rumors between now and the deadline. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that if F Alex Tuch becomes available by then that the Edmonton Oilers would have interest. Hmmm.

7. When Leon Draisaitl scored career goal #400 against the Flames last week, he also pulled firmly into fourth in Oilers All-time Goal Leaders. Glenn Anderson had 417 and Jari Kurri 474. Of course, Wayne Gretzky is at the top with 583.

6. Connor Clattenburg scored a KO against Cole Clayton in Bakerfield’s opening regular season game against San Jose on Saturday. Clattenburg dropped him with a hard right to the jaw. An old school throw-back type of player, Clattenburg sure adds some juice to the organization.

5. When the inevitable goaltender debate re-ignites in Edmonton it is often suggested that Calvin Pickard’s name gets lost in the flurry of words. But all this guy does is win. Including last night’s victory, Pickard is 35-17-2 in regular season play since joining the Oilers. Including playoffs, it is 43-19-2.

4. The Bakersfield Condors lost a messy 7-6 affair on Saturday. Friend of the Cult of Hockey Ira Cooper had eyes on the game. Matt Tomkins got lit up but has precious little help in front of him. The Dineen-Leppanen and the Millman-Prokop parings got torched. Up front, though, lots to be excited about…especially Viljami Marjala (3 assists) and Roby Jarventie (1G, 2A).

3. Is Connor McDavid getting…even faster? In the second period of the Calgary game, according to NHL EDGE, McDavid’s hit 24.61 MPH. That is the fastest they have recorded since they started tracking it. And he had four bursts over 22 PMH. He was a little “slower against Vancouver (21.77 MPH). I think Connor looks fresher than he did at the start of last season.

2. By the time the Oilers are playing the Rangers next week, I expect Jack Roslovic is in the Oilers lineup. The Oilers signed the UFA late last week, to a one-year, $1.5m contract. It includes a limited, short-term No Move Clause. Roslovic is a skill player with the tools to play top six on a talented Oilers team. The twenty-eight-year-old went 22-17-39 in 81 games for Carolina last season. Whether this means Edmonton no longer needs to target a scoring winger at the deadline remains to be seen. But Roslovic, who could not find the right deal anywhere in the summer, will desperately want to prove himself.

1.With the Connor McDavid contract signed, all the talk in Oil Country now is goaltending. Stuart Skinner in particular is back in the crosshairs. He allowed three goals opening night against Calgary. Two of those goals no goaltender would stop. The deflection off Philp in front was pure bad luck. The high deflection from the crossbar down was a borderline call and near impossible to stop. Skinner was just fine in Overtime and the shootout, too. But it was the tying goal flub that opened the floodgates of criticism and re-started this commentary that had been bubbling under all summer. Can the Edmonton Oilers get over the hump with Stuart Skinner in the net?

I am sure we all agree Goal #3 cannot happen. Skinner admitted that later. The fact that it happened in Game One and at home was the perfect storm and a big part of why this got so big, so fast. Granted it was also a bit of a gut-punch, as it completed the comeback by the Flames from down 3-0. But we are talking about the smallest of sample sizes here. It was one play in one game. Plus, all goalies have a couple of those in a season. In fact, there was one in another city the very next night. It was a poor decision on Skinner’s part for certain, but it wasn’t a puck stopping issue…which has been his issue.

Some folks would have Connor Ingram up and in net the very next day. Well, Ingram did not have a training camp. He is working his way back from a very challenging 2024-25. Bakersfield hopes to have him up and going within a couple of weeks. When you know how delicate his comeback likely is, why would you do that to him? Call him up before he is ready and risk shooting his confidence to hell. What a short-sighted waste that would be. The clear play is to stick with what you’ve got for now.

Look: I agree that if the Edmonton Oilers are to finally lift the Stanley Cup come spring, they need very good to excellent goaltending. But a solid Stuart Skinner at his very economical $2.6m cap hit also allows this roster to be as good as it is everywhere else. If you need to replace him, you will immediately have to get a couple million dollars worse somewhere else. If you are not careful, that could easily end up being two steps forward and two steps back at best. And I’m sure Stan Bowman knows that.

So, it is in the best interests of Stuart Skinner, the club and the fans that in a brand, new season and with a new goaltending coach…that this gets (another) chance to work.

This article is not AI generated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, at The Cult…

LEAVINS: Edmonton Oilers dominate Vancouver in 3-1 victory – Player Grades

STAPLES: Is Stuart Skinner on the clock?

Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.

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