Down 2-1 in the series on home ice, tonight might be a must-win game for the Edmonton Oilers. Coach Knoblauch has made the decision to start backup goalie Calvin Pickard after repeat poor performances from Stuart Skinner, and now Elliotte Friedman is reporting the reasoning behind the decision.
According to Friedman, the Oilers were greatly worried by Skinner's post game comments, and his on-ice reactions to letting goals.
Oilers fans know how important the mental side to NHL goaltending is, after seeing Jack Campbell completely lose his confidence and melt down in the last two seasons. Skinner has proven to be a good regular season goaltender, but his playoff statistics are near some of the worst of all time - and it seems the Oilers are worried that it's in his head. Through this series, Skinner has become near unplayable, with a brutal .796 save percentage.
At practice yesterday, Skinner did clearly admit that emotions got the best of him during his disappointing game 3 performance. He's still just a sophomore goalie, so perhaps there's more to come as he matures, but it's starting to look like the Oilers will need to acquire an established goalie this offseason.
