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It’s been months since the Edmonton Oilers had another heartbreaking experience in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row and against the same team. The pain of the loss to the Florida Panthers, who defeated Edmonton in six games in the Stanley Cup Final rematch, still stings for Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner, but he’s also learned how to deal with it amid the NHL offseason.

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“I think going through it the first time, you go through that experience in the summer and then you realize the things you did well and the things you didn’t do well,” Skinner said before taking part in the Rogers Legends of Hockey last Saturday, per Derek Van Dies of NHL’s website. “So going through it a second time, which is obviously devastating, but being able to say you went through this does actually help you get over it quicker, just because you have to go back into training and do it all over again.”

Behind the prowess of their offense that was led by the incredible tandem of Hart Memorial Trophy winners Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers reached the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, where they faced off with the Brad Marchand-infused Panthers. A year before, the Oilers forced a Game 7 on the same NHL stage despite losing all of the first three games of the series against Florida. However, Edmonton fell short in Game 7, resulting in the Panthers raising the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers got the chance to avenge that series loss last June, but the Panthers once again proved to be too much to handle for Edmonton, which didn’t exactly benefit from great goaltending. In the 2025 NHL finals, Skinner allowed 19 goals on 137 shots faced across five appearances in front of the net. Overall in the 2024-25 NHL season, Skinner went 26-18-4 with three shutouts, a 2.81 goals against average and a .896 saves percentage.

The Oilers will continue to be a team that will go as far as where McDavid and Draisaitl take them, but an improved defense, especially between the pipes, could get Edmonton over that infuriating hump that has prevented them from completing their mission to bring home the Cup for the first time since 1990.

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