The Edmonton Oilers picked up a massive win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, but you wouldn’t know it based on Stuart Skinner’s reaction. The Oilers netminder smashed his stick over the post as the final horn sounded.
Perhaps even more shocking immediately afterward when it was clear Skinner wanted nothing to do with his teammates as they approached him to tap him following the win. While he seemed to lighten up a short time later, he essentially blew by defenceman Brett Kulak before getting his head on straight.
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Camera crews picked up on this little outburst, which was quite strange to see from an NHL goalie. Many fans reacted on social media, as did the Sportsnet panel who watched it on a replay mere minutes after it occurred in real time.
“Welcome back to in search of happy guys. Stuart Skinner is not,” Ron MacLean said. “He won 7-3, but he did not like the last goal. I don’t know what he didn’t like about it, whether he thought it was gloved, or a guy was left open.”
It may not seem like a big deal, and perhaps it will prove not to be, but the mini outburst certainly got some attention, and there were likely several Oilers teammates who witnessed it, whether in real-time or later on social media. It’s not the best look given that it came after one of the Oilers’ biggest wins of the season.
Skinner Needs to Show Better Body Language
Skinner was frustrated because he gave up a late goal to Canucks forward Pius Suter. The goal, which wasn’t his fault, came on the power play after Darnell Nurse took a late, and frankly unnecessary, penalty. That seemed to be the source of Skinner’s frustration, since, otherwise, he had allowed just two goals in the outing. At the end of the day, the only thing that should matter is the win, and Skinner’s reaction suggests he may be focusing too much on his personal stats, which are lacking.
Even with last night’s win, Skinner has a 3.25 goals-against average (GAA) and a .883 save percentage (SV%) through 10 starts this season. He’s been quite bad to this point, and it has cost his team several points in the early going. Despite his poor play, his teammates have continued to have his back when speaking to the media. He needs to remember that, as his play has given him no reason to show his teammates up as he did on Saturday night.
Skinner Will Learn
As disappointing as his reaction was, it’s important to note that Skinner is still relatively young at 26. This is just his third full season in the NHL, and like any player, there are lessons to be learned along the way. Let’s hope he understands why this was wrong, and uses it as a growing moment moving forward.
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In his defence, Skinner has often been lauded for his level head based on interviews he gives after the team’s games. Even on nights he’s roughed up, he gets in front of the media and does his best to give in-depth answers. It’s actually quite impressive how often he is able to spin what seems to be a negative into a positive.
With that said, there have been instances this season and in the past when his body language after he’s allowed a goal hasn’t been great. Yes, he’s been hung out to dry at times, but it doesn’t help his team when he shrugs his shoulders while raising his hands in disappointment, especially for an NHL goalie.
We might not know if anything was said to him after the game or if he now knows his antics were caught on camera Saturday. If so, expect to see a far less reactive goaltender in the crease on Tuesday against the New York Islanders.
