Stuart Skinner Dazzles In Oilers Disappointing Overtime Loss To Hurricanes
The Oilers blow a 2-0 lead despite two goals from Connor McDavid and several highlight-reel saves from Skinner.
Andy Devlin (Edmonton Oilers) - Stuart Skinner Dazzles In Oilers Disappointing Overtime Loss To HurricanesThe Oilers' snakebitten season continues.
The Oilers and Hurricanes put on a show for the fans at Rogers Place on Tuesday night, but they couldn't send them home happy.
It started out well for the Oilers. Connor McDavid stole a puck in the defensive zone three and a half minutes into the game and eventually deposited it behind Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. The first half of the period was all Oilers, before Carolina roared back in the second half, still unable to beat Stuart Skinner.
The Oilers continued their solid play into the second frame, finally capitalizing on the powerplay with a patented McDavid-Draisaitl give-and-go. The powerplay looked much closer to its usual form all night, only stymied by an aggressive 'Canes powerplay and the excellent play of Freddie Andersen.
Carolina, for their part, looked absolutely incapable of scoring, missing several wide-open nets and running into a red-hot Stuart Skinner when they did hit the net.
The Oilers continued to threaten in the third, with Andersen robbing Jeff Skinner on several chances around the net. Skinner, who is still looking for his first goal as an Oiler, led the team with six shots against his former club.
Carolina eventually found a way to beat Stuart Skinner, after giving him all he could handle for 40 minutes. Skinner made a flurry of excellent saves early in the third, including an early candidate for save of the year, but was finally beaten by a Shayne Gostisbehere laser on the powerplay.
The Hurricanes evened it up thirteen minutes later, when Martin Necas, who was dangerous all night, finally found the back of the net off of a give-and-go with Eric Robinson. Off to overtime they went.
It was a slow and tentative overtime, with Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour opting to send out a shutdown unit against McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard. Sebastian Aho wired a one-timer past Skinner with seven seconds left in OT to complete the comeback and secure a 3-2 win for Carolina.
Oilers Player Of The Game: Stuart Skinner
Despite Connor McDavid's two-goal night, Stuart Skinner was clearly the Oilers' best player. He kept them in the game when the Hurricanes were threatening, making several huge saves on long shifts in the defensive zone. None of the three goals were on him, owing more to miscommunication from Oilers defenders. This is the Stuart Skinner the Oilers need.
Play Of The Game
Did Carolina score ten seconds later? Yes. Does that make this save any less impressive? Maybe. But look at it! Any time a goalie does something that reminds me of Dominik Hasek, I'm going to praise it.
Despite the blown lead, this was an encouraging performance from the Oilers. They played a close, tight game against one of the league's best, with major contributions from their goaltender and special teams.
This team needs more than just encouraging performances, however. They need wins, and they need goals. They didn't get either of those on Tuesday, and until they start getting them, there won't be anything to cheer about in Edmonton.
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