Two weeks after the Oilers and Penguins essentially swapped starting goalies, neither team’s goaltending situation has improved.
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There are probably a lot of Edmonton Oilers fans watching Stuart Skinner struggle in Pittsburgh these days, who are breathing a sigh of relief that he’s no longer playing in net for Edmonton.
Not that the Oilers are in any better shape.
Two weeks after the Oilers and Penguins essentially swapped starting goalies, Skinner is still searching for his first win with Pittsburgh and Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry is out for at least a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury. With the number of goals Skinner has allowed with his new team, he might welcome an injury at this point.
At the very least, the holiday break comes at the perfect time for a goalie who could use a mental breather.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Skinner said after a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. “We’re trying to get a little streak going and obviously to fall short to these guys is a tough way to go into the break. Myself as well, I’m frustrated.”
For Skinner, who is still wearing a plain, white mask while he gets one designed with his new team colors, the frustrations have been season-long. Despite reaching the Stanley Cup final in back-to-back years, the Oilers goalie was considered the scapegoat for the team’s defensive struggles. The thinking was both Edmonton and Skinner needed a change, even if trading for Jarry was seen as a lateral move.
But so far, a lot of Skinner’s problems since heading to Pittsburgh are the same problems he experienced while in Edmonton. That is, he’s getting hung out to dry – on a nightly basis.
In three starts with the Penguins, Skinner has allowed 12 goals. But if you saw the goals he gave up against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, you wouldn’t blame them on Skinner.
“I think we gave up two or three or maybe even four breakaways today,” said Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. “They scored on two of them. It’s tough to save those.”
This was supposed to be a change of scenery for Skinner, who was practically run out of town after starting the season with an 11-8-4 record and a .891 save percentage. Instead, it’s looking eerily familiar. In his first game with Pittsburgh, Skinner faced his old team and allowed five goals on 22 shots against the Oilers. In a 4-0 loss to Montreal, he allowed three goals on 20 shots. Against Toronto on Wednesday, the bleeding continued.
Skinner wasn’t exactly the problem. But like a lot of this season, he hasn’t been the solution either for a Penguins team that has now lost nine of their past 10 games and fallen out of a wild-card spot in the East. During that span, Pittsburgh has allowed a combined 39 goals.
It’s not hard to see why.
Against Toronto, the Penguins gave up a breakaway goal to William Nylander and another to Steven Lorentz. On another goal, Brett Kulak allowed Max Domi to deke around him before beating Skinner alone in front.
“Obviously, we’re searching for the first win with him behind us,” said Karlsson. “I think the games he’s played has not been on him by any means.”
“My fault or not, I think as a goalie there’s always something small that I can do to help the guys out,” said Skinner. “I just think the overall mood is disappointed.”
The players might be disappointed, but they are not disappointed in Skinner. Quite the opposite, actually. With the way the Penguins have been playing in front of him, it wouldn’t matter what goalie was in net for Pittsburgh.
“He’s been great,” said rookie forward Rutger McGroarty. “From the second he got here, just an incredible guy. A super easy guy to root for and it makes it very easy when you’re stepping in front of a puck or in a battle or whatever. It motivates you that much more because of how good a guy he is. I think overall he stood on his head and he was there when we needed him.
“We just can’t give up that many good looks.”