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Oilers coach Knoblauch gets brutally honest about Stuart Skinner's performance
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers RAW
Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner got lit up against the Colorado Avalanche in the Oilers last game before the 4 Nations Faceoff break, and Coach Knoblauch called him out for the poor performance.
Just before the game, Connor McDavid called upon his teammates to have a better performance in the game- if not for a few poor goals, they may have been able to win.
Oilers coach Knoblauch calls out Stuart Skinner for poor performance on two goals
Directly at the beginning of the press conference when asked about what went wrong last night, Knoblauch pointed to Stuart Skinner's goals against as the biggest problem.
The goals that we gave up early in the game. We were able to respond, but I don't think [Skinner] had much opportunity on the third one, made a nice save at the end of the period, but the first two I felt he could've had. Those are - I thought he could have had those, I didn't think he found those.
- Coach Knoblauch
- Coach Knoblauch
Knoblauch nearly stopped himself from saying it, but the first two goals were simple shots from the perimeter that need to be saves. Both goals just seemed to get by Skinner.
Skinner ended up being pulled at the end of the first period for backup Calvin Pickard, and although the Oilers fought back, weren't able to make up for the weak goals against in the first period.
Oilers biggest weakness costs them against Colorado Avalanche
The Oilers are an elite team by every metric when measuring offence and defence, but with very average goaltending.
Stuart Skinner in particular this season has struggled to keep his save percentage above .900, and has struggled mightily against other top 10 teams.
Despite this, GM Stan Bowman insisted yesterday that the Oilers goaltending is the least of their worries heading into the trade deadline. Hopefully Bowman is trying not to tip his hand, because goaltending may be the Oilers only real concern.
Our goalies have been great So, I'm not sure where that comes from. We certainly believe in both of them, and we think they've been a big part of why our team has been so consistent over the last several months here.
- Stan Bowman
- Stan Bowman
Trading for a goaltending upgrade won't be an easy or comfortable move, but when it's the Oilers biggest problem against contending teams and relative to the rest of their roster, it'd be foolish not to address it. Even an upgrade on Pickard could make a difference, but a real tandem for Skinner would be preferred.
Hopefully Stan Bowman sees the result of last night's game and decides that a real move for confidence in the crease is needed. It's been far too long since the Oilers had an unquestionable starting goalie.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 8 | 308 ANSWERS Oilers coach Knoblauch gets brutally honest about Stuart Skinner's performance Do you think the Oilers need a starting goalie Omar the trade deadline? | ||
| Yes | 268 | 87 % |
| No | 40 | 13 % |
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