"Stuart Skinner has not been up to his standard" - NHL insider weighs in on Oilers' goalie outlook ahead of trade deadline

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun pointed to Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner’s poor form as one of the reasons for the team’s skid. The Oilers have lost all three games since the NHL season resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Appearing on SportsCentre with Jay Onrait on Wednesday, LeBrun said:

“For sure, Stuart Skinner has not been up to his standard. No one inside that Oilers organization is hiding that. But like I said, they truly feel that there's no one out there that's a guaranteed upgrade.

"I mean, you name the guy and sure they would look at it, but they don't believe that guy's out there in the trade market, and they point to his playoff pedigree and think that that guy will show up.” [1:47 onwards]

The TSN analyst pointed to larger problems with the Oilers’ defense. Sharing his opinion that the franchise's blue line was not clicking, Brun took star defenseman Mattias Ekholm's poor showing as a benchmark of their issues.

Edmonton’s poor run stretches before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They have won only two of their last eight games and have conceded 33 goals during that span.

LeBrun called for the Oilers to "get out of this funk" and claimed that their current skid was temporary.

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Stuart Skinner lets in four goals in the Oilers’ latest loss

The Oilers lost 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Stuart Skinner made 32 saves on the night but gave up four goals as well.

Since the NHL regular season resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Oilers have only scored seven goals and conceded 17 in the three games after the break.

"We're a fragile group right now and we're reluctant to play our game," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said via NHL.com. "Confidence is a little hard right now. I think everyone's a little discouraged. They put a lot of pressure on themselves to win and they view themselves as one of the best in the League. We've got to put those adversity moments behind us."

Forward Leon Draisaitl was the one bright spot for the Oilers. He scored his 43rd goal of the season on Tuesday.