Oilers' Connor McDavid, Kris Knoblauch give their opinions on heavily scrutinized goalie Stuart Skinner after Game 1 loss

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch and captain Connor McDavid shared their thoughts on goaltender Stuart Skinner's performance in Game 1 against the LA Kings.

Skinner had a challenging start in the series opener, with the Oilers falling 6-5 to the Kings on Monday. He allowed six goals on 30 shots and faced scrutiny after the game.

Connor McDavid defended the goaltender and felt it was hard to blame Skinner for many of the goals (1:54 onwards):

"Goaltending is massive. It's not necessarily about making all the saves, it's about making the right one — the big one. Tough to fault through on many of them last night. I thought he gave us a chance, and that's all you can ask for," he said.

Kris Knoblauch discussed the critical role of Stuart Skinner and the elevated performance in goaltending in a playoff series. Despite the criticism, he expressed confidence in both Skinner and Calvin Pickard, noting their ability to deliver.

"Goaltending is a very important position. You usually have success when it's going well for you. We know Stew can turn it on and play really well, and same with Calvin. We saw that last year in the playoffs and throughout the regular season, so we've got confidence in both those guys," Knoblauch said."

Stuart Skinner recorded a 26-18- 4 record during the regular season, with a 2.81 goals-against-average an .896 save percentage, and three shutouts.

Stuart Skinner confident ahead of Game 2

Stuart Skinner expressed confidence, noting that the Oilers have faced similar situations many times before. Heading into Game 2, the 26-year-old emphasized that the team knows how to approach the game, and in tougher situations, it provides a strong sense of confidence.

"We’re going into Game 2. We know what to do, we know what to expect, we know how to play in it," he said via The Canadian Press. "That doesn’t necessarily mean we know what result is going to come from it but it gives us a sense of confidence in that we’ve been here before, we’ve been in a lot of worse situations before."

Skinner will aim to elevate his performance when the Oilers face the Kings in Game 2 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday. The puck drops at 10 p.m. ET.