Stuart Skinner has not lost an intra-conference playoff series in more than two years. For the last two seasons, Skinner and the Edmonton Oilers made a run to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to the Florida Panthers.
Skinner will not have to face Florida this year, but he will start Game 1 for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena Saturday. Arturs Silovs will be the backup, at least for Game 1.
“Skinner will be starting,” said Muse. “As I said (Friday), we have the benefit of two guys that have played great for us all year, and so we went through our process, and Skinner’s starting.”
ESPN coverage will shove the opening puck drop back to 8:25 p.m., and Muse will put Skinner in net, though Muse was less than forthcoming about the decision-making process.
“Said it all year, take things a game at a time. You know, I’m not going to go anywhere past Game 1 on anything,” Muse said. “And so that’s not just in regard to that question, that’s into everything. We are focused solely on Game One. That has been our focus.”
The Penguins acquired Skinner from the Edmonton Oilers with defenseman Brett Kulak on Dec. 12 in exchange for goalie Tristan Jarry. With the Penguins, Skinner posted a 12-9-5 record with an .885 save percentage, though his last couple of games behind the Penguins’ makeshift lineup lowered his numbers.
In his 27 starts, he posted 15 quality starts, according to Hockey Reference.
Tags: Pittsburgh Penguins stuart skinner
Categorized:Penguins News