The uncomfortable truth about Stuart Skinner and the Oilers has been revealed
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Daniel Lucente
Jan 22, 2026 (11:25)
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Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Stuart Skinner is rolling with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Edmonton Oilers fans are asking the uncomfortable question, was he ever the real issue?
Since Dec. 25, Skinner has stacked 6 wins, sitting among the NHL leaders in that span.
The wild part is the quality, a 1.58 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage since Christmas.
Pittsburgh is 9-2-2 since Dec. 25 and is giving up only 2.08 goals per game, with the Skinner Arturs Silovs tandem.
That's not a tiny hot streak anymore, that's a full-on identity shift between the pipes.
In Edmonton, the conversation always circled back to rebounds, softies, and timing. Now the same goalie is getting chants and banking standings points.
Skinner is 27, drafted in 2017 in the third round, 78th overall by the Oilers.
His full-season line shows how split this year has been, with the early turbulence and then the Pittsburgh correction.
Stuart Skinner flips the Edmonton Oilers script
The vibe in Oil Country is half regret, half anger, because it looks like the team in front of him might have been the bigger problem.
Pittsburgh is protecting the middle, keeping rush looks cleaner, and letting him see pucks. A goalie's game looks "fixed" fast when the slot stops being a shooting gallery.
There's also the workload piece, he's not being asked to steal every second night. When his reads are calm, his size plays, and the five-hole panic disappears.
This doesn't erase the rough nights in Edmonton. It just reframes them, maybe the baseline was always NHL starter, not tire fire.
Now every Penguins win he banks since Christmas turns into an Oilers what-if, and that's going to sting right into the deadline.
Also read on HockeyLatest :
Calvin Pickard calls out Oilers' coaching staff for relegating him to third string goaltender
Calvin Pickard calls out Oilers' coaching staff for relegating him to third string goaltender
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 22|216 ANSWERS The uncomfortable truth about Stuart Skinner and the Oilers has been revealed Should the Edmonton Oilers regret moving Stuart Skinner? | ||
| Yes | 91 | 42.1 % |
| No | 125 | 57.9 % |
| List of polls | ||