Tick tock. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/10/11/edmonton-oilers-weekly-thoughts-pressure-stuart-skinner-nice-addition-jack-roslovic-next-player-signed/">Stuart Skinner</a> is on the clock.

His time as the <a href="http://oilersnation.com/combinations">Edmonton Oilers</a> starting goaltender could come to a close soon if he doesn&#8217;t prove he can take a step forward in his play, TSN&#8217;s Ryan Rishaug reports.
&#8220;The Oilers have made the decision they&#8217;re going to let it ride here with Skinner for a little bit,&#8221; he said during a Friday radio hit on Oilers Now. &#8220;There&#8217;s a new voice in his ear working with him at the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/07/17/one-on-one-peter-aubry-get-to-know-edmonton-oilers-new-goalie-coach/">goaltending coach</a> position. It looks like he&#8217;s made some changes in the off-season.
&#8220;What I would say to you, Oiler fan that is worried, don&#8217;t worry. If Stuart Skinner is not capable of handling this, he won&#8217;t be here&#8230; but I think we all know that Skinner&#8217;s on the clock here.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
&quot;They&#39;ve committed to seeing what they have here for a chunk of time here with Stuart Skinner.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/TSNRyanRishaug?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSNRyanRishaug</a> talks <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> goaltenders with <a href="https://twitter.com/Bob_Stauffer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bob_Stauffer</a> on Oilers Now.
📺: <a href="https://t.co/9wcENg3Odg">https://t.co/9wcENg3Odg</a>
Powered by <a href="https://twitter.com/LegacyHCYeg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LegacyHCYeg</a> ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/uZ9TEybGNM">pic.twitter.com/uZ9TEybGNM</a>
&mdash; Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer (@OilersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/OilersNow/status/1976804215722065970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Skinner, 26, is entering his fourth season as the Oilers&#8217; No. 1 goaltender, and each of the previous three years have been more disappointing than the last. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting and was named to both the All-Rookie Team and the All-Star Game in a year that saw him post a 29-14-5 record, 9.12 save percentage and a 2.75 goals against average, saving 14.1 goals above average, according to Hockey Reference.
While he continued to rack up wins in year two, posting a 36-18-5 record, his save percentage dipped to a .905 while his goals saved above average fell to 3.1. And last year, his numbers fell even lower. He posted a 26-18-4 record, a .896 save percentage, a 2.81 goals against average while saving -5.3 goals above average.
Across 50 playoff starts in the last three years, he&#8217;s posted a 26-22 record, .892 save percentage, a 2.88 goals against average, while saving -12.5 goals above average.
Despite the Oilers getting deep in the Stanley Cup final two years in a row, one of the defining factors in each series against the Florida Panthers has been goaltending. Simply put: the Oilers aren&#8217;t going to wait around and hope things get better.
&#8220;He will not be in net for Game 1 of the playoffs if he does not clearly show to the team this year that he&#8217;s going to do a better job of handling that than he has in the past,&#8221; Rishaug said. &#8220;So I&#8217;m not going to panic after one game, but.  Don&#8217;t panic if you&#8217;re an Oiler fan. Stan Bowman&#8217;s able to get things done and when he decides that really needs to be done now, it&#8217;ll probably get done.&#8221;
Cracks have already started to show in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/10/09/edmonton-oilers-goaltending-situation-spotlight-stuart-skinner-blown-load-season-opener/">Skinner&#8217;s first start Wednesday against the Flames</a>, including a game-tying goal he froze on. And as the Oilers prepare to take on the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night, they&#8217;ll be turning to Calvin Pickard between the pipes.
<hr />
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on X at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
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Tick tock. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/10/11/edmonton-oilers-weekly-thoughts-pressure-stuart-skinner-nice-addition-jack-roslovic-next-player-signed/">Stuart Skinner</a> is on the clock.



His time as the <a href="http://oilersnation.com/combinations">Edmonton Oilers</a> starting goaltender could come to a close soon if he doesn't prove he can take a step forward in his play, TSN's Ryan Rishaug reports.

"The Oilers have made the decision they're going to let it ride here with Skinner for a little bit," he said during a Friday radio hit on Oilers Now. "There's a new voice in his ear working with him at the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/07/17/one-on-one-peter-aubry-get-to-know-edmonton-oilers-new-goalie-coach/">goaltending coach</a> position. It looks like he's made some changes in the off-season.

"What I would say to you, Oiler fan that is worried, don't worry. If Stuart Skinner is not capable of handling this, he won't be here... but I think we all know that Skinner's on the clock here."

https://twitter.com/oilersnow/status/1976804215722065970?s=46

Skinner, 26, is entering his fourth season as the Oilers' No. 1 goaltender, and each of the previous three years have been more disappointing than the last. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting and was named to both the All-Rookie Team and the All-Star Game in a year that saw him post a 29-14-5 record, 9.12 save percentage and a 2.75 goals against average, saving 14.1 goals above average, according to Hockey Reference.

While he continued to rack up wins in year two, posting a 36-18-5 record, his save percentage dipped to a .905 while his goals saved above average fell to 3.1. And last year, his numbers fell even lower. He posted a 26-18-4 record, a .896 save percentage, a 2.81 goals against average while saving -5.3 goals above average.

Across 50 playoff starts in the last three years, he's posted a 26-22 record, .892 save percentage, a 2.88 goals against average, while saving -12.5 goals above average.

Despite the Oilers getting deep in the Stanley Cup final two years in a row, one of the defining factors in each series against the Florida Panthers has been goaltending. Simply put: the Oilers aren't going to wait around and hope things get better.

"He will not be in net for Game 1 of the playoffs if he does not clearly show to the team this year that he's going to do a better job of handling that than he has in the past," Rishaug said. "So I'm not going to panic after one game, but.  Don't panic if you're an Oiler fan. Stan Bowman's able to get things done and when he decides that really needs to be done now, it'll probably get done."

Cracks have already started to show in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/10/09/edmonton-oilers-goaltending-situation-spotlight-stuart-skinner-blown-load-season-opener/">Skinner's first start Wednesday against the Flames</a>, including a game-tying goal he froze on. And as the Oilers prepare to take on the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night, they'll be turning to Calvin Pickard between the pipes.

<hr />

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on X at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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