Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner falls to new low after loss to Buffalo Sabres

The Oilers goaltending against top 10 teams in particular this season has been a major concern for the playoffs, but now with results like these against Buffalo, there's cause for concern.

In the Oilers last ten games, Stuart Skinner has allowed 33 goals and recorded a horrific .871 save percentage. His only two performances above league average came against Montreal and St. Louis.

To put that number into perspective, Jack Campbell's save percentage was .873 in 5 games before the Oilers decided to place him on waivers.

It's very difficult to win games in the NHL with such a massive disadvantage in net. Skinner being nearly 30% below league average over the course of 10 games is a major reason they've lost 7 of those contests.

Last night against the Sabres, it was again just one weak goal that made the difference for the Oilers to lose, while Buffalo's goalie made numerous ten-bell saves.

When playing against any top team that actually has above average goaltending, the disparity between Stuart Skinner and the opposition becomes even more pronounced. It seems more often as of late, the Oilers are losing close games when their goalie is sub .900, and the opponent is far above it.

It's very unfortunate that Skinner is struggling so much. Fans in Edmonton want to rally behind their hometown starting goalie who did backstop them to the Cup Final last year.

However it's impossible to ignore the poor results, and even the regression over Skinner's career. His save percentage has now decreased 3 years in a row, causing questions about goalie coach Dustin Schwartz.

The unfortunate reality is that Skinner isn't a reliable starting goalie. The Oilers should've confronted that reality at the deadline and overpaid to acquire any goaltending help, but they chose not to.

Hopefully Skinner can turn around his game for the playoffs, but Oilers fans will be holding their breath the whole time. Surely, a contending team can do better than that.