"Ilya Samsonov will be available": NHL fans react to Stuart Skinner's ranking as worst goaltender in salary cap era amid Oilers' goaltending woes

The Edmonton Oilers are facing goaltending challenges with Stuart Skinner. In Game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at Rogers Place, Skinner had a tough time stopping the shots, and it had a big impact on the outcome.

The Oilers got off to a great start, taking an early lead less than six minutes into the first period. However, after the Canucks countered with three goals, the game was already slipping away from Edmonton, resulting in a 4-1 loss for them.

Stuart Skinner conceded four goals on 15 shots and was eventually replaced by Calvin Pickard, who made his playoff debut with three saves.

Skinner has been the No. 1 choice for the Oilers in the playoffs, and his performance hasn't been up to the standard the team would hope for. With a save percentage of .881 in 20 playoff games, he ranks last among all goalies since the NHL cap era in 2005 with at least 15-plus post-season appearances.

The goaltending issues for the Edmonton Oilers continue to mount, and fans are increasingly frustrated. Here's what NHL fans said on X/Twitter about Stuart Skinner's woes as the lowest-ranked goalie in the cap era for Edmonton in the playoffs.

One fan opined and said:

"Ilya Samsonov will be available this off season"

Another fan chimed in and pointed out that one of the reasons for his goaltending woes has been the Oilers' lackluster defense in front of him:

"Has had some of the most average to below average defending in front of him too. But ok!"

"Maybe they should try Jack Campbell ...," one fan suggested.

One fan opined that Stuart Skinner has not been at his best, but he's not the only reason for the loss:

"Skinner didn't have a chance on atleast 3/4 goals last night. Oilers kept giving a 40 goal scorer prime looks, including McDavid leaving him alone in the slot. Skinner's bad but it's not just him, atleast not last night."

So is it our 2nd year goalies fault that’s being paid like a backup?? Or our GM fault that didn’t get us another goalie because he spent 5M on an ahl goalie," another wrote.

"Don’t blame the goalie if you give him zero support. Oilers are a one dimensional team. He isn’t my favorite goalie but can’t blame him for all that is going wrong for the oil. Canucks are a team, Oilers are not," one X user said.

Skinner has appeared in eight games this post-season, posting a .877 SV% and 3.22 GAA. It puts him in 10th place among goaltenders in the NHL playoffs.

Kris Knoblauch expressed confidence in Stuart Skinner

Skinner's numbers between the pipes could be better. However, goaltending didn't solely cause the Oilers' loss in Game 3.

There were other factors at play, such as defensive lapses and difficulty in scoring goals. While Stuart Skinner could have made a difference with a key save or two, better defense and offense would've given some momentum to the team as the game progressed.

In the post-game media interaction, coach Kris Knoblauch expressed confidence in Stuart Skinner despite a tough third period. He mentioned that they needed more saves and is confident that Skinner will bounce back in the upcoming games.

"We need more saves. Tonight, obviously I felt like that with 'Picks' going in in the third period,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said (via NHL.com). “Tonight’s one that he would like to have back, and we’ll see what he’s got in the future, whether that’s Game 4 or Game 5 or whatever it is. But we’ll be seeing 'Stu' again, and I have no doubt that he’ll respond and play well.”

The Oilers trail the Canucks 2-1. Game 4 returns to Rogers Place on Tuesday night.