The Edmonton Oilers have elected to go back to starting goalie Stuart Skinner over backup Calvin Pickard for the team’s win-or-go-home Game Six matchup with the Florida Panthers scheduled for later tonight. Additionally, the Oilers will be starting forward Kaspari Kapanen and defenseman John Klingberg in favor of Troy Stecher and Viktor Arvidsson.
“Obviously, we feel that those two give us the best opportunity to win,” Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters earlier today. “John’s played some really good playoff hockey. There wasn’t much hesitation to not have him play.”
Stuart Skinner has had a rough go of it in the Stanley Cup Final. Not only was he pulled in Games Three and Four, but he was outright benched in the Oilers’ Game Five loss. Despite his struggles, Kris Knoblauch is still confident in the five-year veteran.
“Of course, we’re not going to make that change,” he said. “Stu’s been in a lot of high-pressure games. He’s played really well. You look at the amount of elimination games he’s played – I think there’s six last year – and every single game that he played in were really solid if not spectacular performances. So the season’s on the line, but we have a lot of confidence in him.”
Knoblauch elaborated that members of the Oilers’ roster have occasionally helped determine who should be the starting netminder, even if they didn’t speak directly to the head coach.
“It’s not a direct, ‘Hey, who do you think should start?’ Or anything,” he explained. “You just know the players have some confidence, and you see the body language or whatever it is… It wouldn’t be a point-blank, ‘Hey, who do you think our starter should be tomorrow night?’ Because you’re putting players in a difficult position.”
Stuart Skinner will start for the Oilers in Game 6 🛢️ pic.twitter.com/df9y3ZK3On
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 17, 2025
Understandably, the front office guys often provide more feedback and insight into who should be the starting goalie.
“More of the conversations, obviously, is with the coaching staff [and] the general manager,” Knoblauch said. “Those are the ones who are really giving a lot of the impact, but you know, overall, how everyone feels.”
Even though Stuart Skinner was pulled in Game Four and benched in Game Five, he still felt that he didn’t have a performance. But, he told members of the media earlier today that he was “frustrated” that he wasn’t allowed to finish Game Four.
“Might sound weird, I felt like I played well, but sometimes that happens. It’s just life,” Skinner said. “Especially as a goalie, it can be hard sometimes. But, I mean, the process after that is try to shake it off as quickly as I am able to. I wasn’t able to for a little bit. I was a little bit frustrated. It kind of took me a day, and it’s just back to work.”
Skinner explained that he wasn’t going to be throwing himself any pity parties in the face of a second-consecutive Stanley Cup Final loss.
“There’s not much time in this league, especially in the finals, to soak on it and feel bad for yourself,” he said. “So you just got to go back on the ice the next day and start working on your game again.”
Stuart Skinner is a team player and just wants to help the Oilers win. Though he would obviously like to be the franchise’s preferred starter.
This is the second time in Oilers history they will play a game on June 17th.
The first was also Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final when they defeated Carolina 4-0 in 2006.— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) June 17, 2025
“My job’s to do what my job is: to stop the puck when I’m told to go in the net,” Skinner said. “Sometimes I get told that I’m not. For sure, it’s disappointing. I want to be the guy that’s in all the time. I wish I could help these guys every single night. It’s hard watching from the bench, but I just got to stick to what I know, what my job is.”
Stuart Skinner admitted that it feels good to know he has the support of the team in their most important game of the season.
“It’s huge,” he said. “[I’m] feeling good coming into tonight. [I] definitely know that I have the confidence of my teammates and coaching staff. I think there’s obviously a lot of belief still.”
Oilers center Leon Draisaitl reaffirmed the team’s confidence in Skinner while speaking to reporters earlier today.
“He’s done it for numerous years in a row now,” he said. “We went to Game Seven in the Stanley Cup finals last year. He was amazing in the playoffs. He’s had incredible games this year. There’s just a trust factor that we know that he can get the job done for us.”
The Edmonton Oilers must win tonight to stave off elimination. Otherwise, the Florida Panthers will become the first team since the 2020/2021 Tampa Bay Lightning to win back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships. Game Six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EDT.
