The Edmonton Oilers lost a sloppy game to the rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers today, and now reporter Mark Spector is facing criticism for a question after the game.
Stuart Skinner had a particularly poor game today amid concerns from Oilers fans for a need for a new goaltender. After the game, Spector leaned into that narrative.
Mark Spector asks Matthias Ekholm to throw Stuart Skinner under the bus
In a post game interview, Mark Spector asked Ekholm what he would say to critics of the Oilers goaltending affecting results.
Asked Mattias Ekholm what he would say to people who thought goaltending was the Oilers biggest issue today."That they should probably rewatch the game and see where the problems started. I don't think there's a goalie in the league that would have saved many of those."
It's a question that's directly leading Ekholm to be critical towards his teammate, and even if Skinner's performance wasn't up to par today, Ekholm wouldn't throw him under the bus to the media.
Fans took to social media to call out the question as leading Ekholm into an answer he didn't want to give. Props to Ekholm, he was able to dodge it and give a vote of confidence to his goalie.
Stuart Skinner with an .839 save percentage and -3.29 Goals Saved Above Expected. Skinner needs to be a lot better, but that message doesn't need to be delivered by his teammates through the media.
Oilers coach Knoblauch also said that today's loss was more so on turnovers, also defending Skinner.
Despite these comments, hopefully the Oilers do realize that a meaningful upgrade to their goal crease may be the best move they can make at the trade deadline to improve their chances at a Stanley Cup - the goaltending is their only clear weakness.
