The Edmonton Oilers may be looking at shaking up the crease again.
The 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast is reporting that goaltender Stuart Skinner will get the nod for Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinal versus the Vegas Golden Knights. This does follow reporting from TSN’s Oilers insider Ryan Rishaug , that Skinner was in what is generally the starter’s net for today’s practice at the Downtown Community Arena. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch was noncommittal when asked about it after the practice.
Should Skinner get the nod for Game 1?
Ultimately, this is a question that doesn’t have a clear answer, despite the majority opinion on social media. There’s multiple things to consider with this question, and a lot of context to consider. As well, gamesmanship could be afoot, for all we know.
The simplest answer would be to stick with Calvin Pickard, who won four straight games in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings. However, Skinner has been criticized for posting sub-.900 save percentages even in wins over the past couple of years, and in keeping it fair, Pickard has so far posted a 2.93 GAA and .893 sv% in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Game 5 notwithstanding, Pickard allowed an average of four goals per game, which isn’t going to be good enough to knock off the Golden Knights in a best-of-seven series.
There’s also the question of whether the goaltending woes are on the goalies themselves, or the defence in front of them. By and large, both Skinner and Pickard have each allowed a couple of “saveable” goals, but there’s also the plain fact that Games 1 and 2 (and to a lesser extent Games 3 and 6) were abject disasters defensively. If the defence can buckle down a little bit more, their netminders’ lives should be a little easier.
Lastly, there’s the bit about Stu himself. Last year, after being sat for a couple of games against the Vancouver Canucks, Skinner picked it up the rest of the way, and provided serviceable enough goaltending to get the Oilers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. This year could yield a similar result. However, it may not be wise to keep Skinner stapled to the bench, and then try to throw him into a critical later game in the series ice-cold.
Game 1 is the lowest-risk option to see if Skinner has his mojo back, and if he doesn’t yet, then you can go back to Pickard after he’s had a couple days of extra rest. Pickard did get run into in Game 6, and that can take some time to fully shake off.
Regardless, this will be an interesting situation to follow, and the only guarantee is that the Oilers fanbase, as with nearly everything, will be divided no matter which decision Knoblauch makes.
