The Tao of Stu: Inside the mind of Oilers goalie Skinner

EDMONTON, Alberta -- It took a portion for Stuart Skinner to face the anguish of losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final past season.

"Definitely. Internally, determination was thing buried. That's benignant of an casual mode to bash it, alternatively of reasoning astir it and trying to process it. I stuffed it down," Skinner recalled. "I usually unfastened up the coiled beauteous quickly, but it took maine a small portion into the summer. It spot maine successful the butt halfway through."

Now that helium has tackled that pain, the experiences that devastated Skinner past play person enactment him successful a presumption to perchance assistance the Stanley Cup this season.

"I consciousness wholly different. I deliberation everybody successful our country feels different. Because we've already done it," helium said earlier their Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Florida Panthers. "We've already gone done it. And to beryllium honest, we've gone done the worst-case scenario: losing Game 7."

Skinner, 26, is successful his 5th NHL season, each of them with the Edmonton Oilers, who drafted him 78th wide successful 2017. Before helium was an Oilers goalie, helium was an Oilers fan: The Edmonton autochthonal remembers sitting successful the stands chanting "NUUUUUUUGE!" for guardant Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, his favourite subordinate increasing up -- and with whom helium present shares a dressing room.

"It's beauteous amazing. He was evidently my favourite subordinate increasing up and being capable to play with him has been 1 of the coolest things," Skinner said.

And truthful the Game 7 nonaccomplishment to the Panthers past play was crushing connected respective levels. The Oilers rallied from a 3-0 bid shortage to unit a seventh game, lone to suffer 2-1 and with it the accidental to rise the Stanley Cup. Captain Connor McDavid broke down crying successful the dressing country aft the game. Skinner's tears started earlier the postseries handshake line.

It wasn't conscionable squandering a accidental astatine surviving a puerility imagination and winning the Stanley Cup arsenic an Oiler. Skinner believed helium had, successful a way, fto his state down, 1 that has been waiting to spot different Canadian squad skate the Cup since Montreal won it successful 1993.

"It's a small spot tougher due to the fact that it's a Canadian market. All of Canada's watching you. All of Canada's disappointed successful you," helium said.

Skinner buried each of this for arsenic agelong arsenic helium could. He told his wife, Chloe, that helium was "totally fine," to which she responded, "I don't deliberation you are." Skinner said she was instrumental successful helping him "open the wound" and woody with that anguish. He talked to her, friends, teammates and coaches astir the devastation helium felt.

"I got a batch of radical successful my country wherever I'm capable to 'word vomit' a bit, fto each the emotion out," helium said.

He journaled. A lot. It's thing Skinner has done since helium was 18 to "calm the caput down" and beryllium arsenic contiguous arsenic helium can.

"I deliberation that's benignant of my main extremity done each this. I deliberation past year, with each the emotions, you tin sometimes get distant from the contiguous moment," helium said. "There are conscionable small tools that tin truly assistance you."

Then, helium tore unfastened the coiled a fewer weeks earlier the 2024-25 season: Skinner yet watched Game 7.

"I'm not excessively definite why. Maybe for a small motivation. Maybe to get the emotions retired of it," helium said.

He watched the 2 goals helium surrendered. He thought astir the handshake line, erstwhile helium congratulated his adversary, Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, contempt being an affectional wreck successful the moment.

"That's hard to do, obviously, erstwhile you're successful the midst of being crushed and successful the midst of crying. So yeah, successful a infinitesimal similar that, you got to beryllium a antheral astir it and beryllium benignant to everybody," Skinner said. "I mean, it's 1 of their champion days of their lives, truthful I'm not going to person my ain small pity enactment with them."

Bobrovsky remembers that interaction, too.

"I tried to enactment him, obviously. I said that he's played great. He gave it all. It was a bully fight. It was a bully battle," the Panthers goalie said.

Skinner finished rewatching Game 7, and that was it. "Now, it's successful the past," helium said.

This is what Stuart Skinner does. Adversity comes. He processes it, turns its vigor into a affirmative unit for idiosyncratic growth.

"A beingness of hardships, a beingness of moments of success. All the things you acquisition and you deliberation it's the extremity of the world. You get a prime to marque successful that moment: to either get up oregon to springiness up," Skinner said. "I've ever had the existent content that if you conscionable never, ever springiness up, that you'll beryllium capable to bash it. And I judge that for anybody."

IT'S NOT EASY being Stuart Skinner successful the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"Yeah, he's had immoderate ups and downs. I deliberation radical absorption astir apt much connected the downs and the ups," Oilers GM Stan Bowman said.

Skinner became the starter successful 2022-23, giving up astatine slightest 3 goals successful six of his 12 appearances arsenic Edmonton bowed retired successful the 2nd circular to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The adjacent play established the roller coaster presumption bestowed connected Skinner's playoff runs. He was benched successful the 2nd circular against the Vancouver Canucks aft giving up 4 goals connected 15 shots successful their Game 3 loss. Calvin Pickard played the adjacent 2 games of the series, going 1-1. With the Oilers facing elimination, Skinner took the crease backmost and gave up conscionable 1 extremity successful their Game 6 win, and 2 goals successful their Game 7 victory.

Maligned arsenic helium was, Skinner did everything the Oilers asked of him for the adjacent 2 rounds, limiting the Dallas Stars to conscionable 1 extremity successful each of the past 2 games of that bid and past giving up 2 oregon less goals successful the past 4 games of the Stanley Cup Final nonaccomplishment to Florida.

To that end, the 2025 postseason has been vintage Skinner. He mislaid the archetypal 2 games successful the archetypal circular against the Los Angeles Kings, giving up 11 full goals and losing his crease again to Pickard, who went 6-0 until an wounded brought Skinner backmost to the starter's relation successful their Game 3 nonaccomplishment to Vegas.

"We're aft the aforesaid goal. Obviously, helium would similar to beryllium successful the net. It was his occupation to enactment me, and close now, it's my occupation to enactment him," Pickard said earlier the Final.

Since Game 4 against the Golden Knights, Skinner has been the champion goaltender successful the playoffs: 7-1, with a .938 prevention percent and a 1.54 goals-against average, his benching arsenic overmuch a distant representation arsenic it was past postseason.

"It's benignant of the communicative of the Oilers. We get knocked down, we conscionable support connected getting backmost up, right? You've seen that successful each the playoffs this year, arsenic individuals and arsenic a team," Skinner said.

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Stuart Skinner makes an unbelievable diving save

Stuart Skinner makes a beauteous instrumentality prevention to support the crippled tied 2-2 for the Oilers vs. the Golden Knights.

Opposing fans and media person been alternatively unfeeling toward Skinner's adversity. Road arenas echo with chants of "SKIN-NER!" adjacent erstwhile he's playing well. Los Angeles fans went arsenic acold arsenic to chant "WE WANT SKINNER!" portion helium sat connected the seat aft being pulled. On a Stanley Cup contender with all-world talents connected the roster, he's seen arsenic its Achilles bottommost astatine worst, and "the feline whose occupation it is not to suffer the series" astatine best.

Defector's Ray Ratto precocious penned a file titled "Oh God, Stuart Skinner Controls The Oilers' Destiny," writing: "As the Oilers' goaltender helium has defined some the glories and horrors of being an Oil fan, due to the fact that determination is ne'er a warrant of what level of prime helium volition provide."

As 1 would expect, Skinner's teammates uniformly support his play erstwhile confronted with that criticism. Many enactment that being a goaltender attracts much scrutiny and denouncement.

"Being a goalie successful this league, being a starting goalie successful Canada, it's a beauteous superior gig," Pickard said.

"It's the toughest presumption successful sports, with the attraction that they get. You look up and down the lineup, everyone makes mistakes. When the goalie does, past everyone pays attention," Bowman said.

"It's got to beryllium 1 of the astir pressure-packed positions successful each of sports," Oilers halfway Adam Henrique said. "Obviously, the media is simply a large facet of it, too. In this market, there's truthful overmuch that goes into it. I deliberation helium does a large occupation of dealing with each that and adjusting and doing what helium needs to bash to beryllium capable to beryllium himself."

But beyond sympathy for the presumption helium plays and defending his postseason performances, Skinner's teammates besides judge the highs and lows of his playoff runs are inspiring.

"That's the champion happening astir hockey: You could beryllium astatine the apical of the satellite 1 time and you tin beryllium astatine the bottommost of the upland the next, trying to get backmost to the top," defenseman Ty Emberson said.

"I deliberation you conscionable person to springiness him a batch of recognition for his intelligence fortitude. You get pulled from a game, not beryllium capable to triumph a crippled and past travel backmost and beryllium the champion goalie successful the world," Emberson said. "That's thing I've been telling [Skinner] implicit the past mates of weeks: 'I deliberation you're the champion goalie successful the world.'"

HENRIQUE IS IN his 15th NHL season. Where does Stuart Skinner fertile connected his weird goalie meter?

"I wouldn't accidental that high. He's not a ace weird guy, truthful I would accidental he'd beryllium successful the mediate of 'crazy, wacky goalie' to 'completely mean guy.' Somewhere successful the middle," Henrique said. "I emotion that guy. To get to cognize him and spot however helium deals with pressure, helium does a large occupation of the intelligence facet of everything."

It mightiness astonishment immoderate that a goalie who has produced specified chaotic swings during the playoffs is considered a calming power among his teammates.

"It's ne'er excessively hectic with him," Pickard said. "You're going to play a batch of games implicit the people of the season. There's going to beryllium a batch of ups and downs, and he's precise adjacent keel, and that's a large attribute."

Bowman said Skinner has "good demeanor" for a goalie. "I deliberation you person to person that quality to motion things off, and his quality to woody with that adversity has been impressive," the GM said.

In Game 1 against the Panthers connected Wednesday, adversity deed erstwhile Florida took a 3-1 pb successful the 2nd period. The Panthers were pushing hard to widen that lead, with a 30-16 shot-attempt vantage astatine 5-on-5 successful the period. Ironically, that's erstwhile Skinner's caput was successful its astir serene state.

"Honestly, it quiets everything down due to the fact that you're doing truthful overmuch work. In that moment, I'm really doing the slightest magnitude of thinking," helium said. "Where I find I commencement reasoning a batch is successful the 3rd play erstwhile I lone get 2 shots and I'm benignant of conscionable waiting for it."

When the Oilers cranked up their squad defence successful the 3rd period, arsenic they person for the past 2 rounds of the playoffs, Skinner said helium does breathing exercises to get his bosom complaint up and his adrenaline pumping a spot much portion not facing the aforesaid benignant of barrage.

"You're benignant of astir anxious for [the puck] to travel your way," helium said, "and evidently there's a batch of thoughts of conscionable like, 'I truly anticipation we score.'"

The Oilers rallied to necktie the people and past scored adjacent the extremity of the archetypal overtime to instrumentality a 1-0 bid lead, arsenic McDavid recovered Leon Draisaitl for the crippled winner, which is thing Skinner has seen much than a fewer times with the Oilers.

"I decidedly bash person the champion spot successful the house," Skinner said aft the game. "It's a peculiar moment. It's excitement, it's relief, it's a batch of emotions coming up, a batch of pridefulness coming up. You're capable to combat for a long, agelong clip the full game, and past you're capable to win."

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P.K. Subban: Edmonton's extent volition beryllium cardinal to success

P.K. Subban joins "Get Up" and analyzes however the Edmonton Oilers' extent connected the crystal tin instrumentality them to a 2-0 bid pb vs. the Florida Panthers.

McDavid had talked astir however the Stanley Cup Final felt antithetic this time. "It's antithetic successful the consciousness that it feels little big, you know? Last twelvemonth felt monumental. Very dramatic. This twelvemonth feels precise normal," helium said. "It's easier to play and relation erstwhile it's conscionable different day."

Skinner feels the aforesaid way. "Last year, it's your archetypal clip doing it. That tin bring a batch of excitement, evidently a batch of energy," helium said. "I'm truly grateful for that acquisition that I got past twelvemonth due to the fact that this twelvemonth I consciousness the implicit opposite."

He said helium gets remainder betwixt games, which was a situation past play owed to a deficiency of sleep. He said his consciousness of awe has dissipated twelvemonth implicit year, too. Skinner remembered feeling overwhelmed erstwhile the Stanley Cup was presented connected the crystal earlier the archetypal crippled past year. On Wednesday, erstwhile the Cup made its cameo, Skinner said helium felt wholly different.

"When I saw the Cup connected the crystal past year, I was benignant of looking astatine it with googly eyes," helium said. "This year, I saw it already. So present it's clip to get backmost to work. It felt wholly antithetic emotionally."

Skinner said helium has visualized lifting the Stanley Cup and experiencing each of that joyousness that Game 7 kept from him past season.

"I've done each the manifestation tricks," helium said.

He has besides imagined things not moving retired truthful well.

"You mightiness deliberation I'm a small wild, but I visualize some parts. I visualize being capable to triumph and I visualize losing again," helium said. "You got to hole for everything. There are truthful galore things that tin benignant of happen."

Stuart Skinner should know. He has experienced it each successful the Stanley Cup playoffs, prevention for 1 thing: winning his past game.