Skinner staying in moment for Oilers entering Game 6 against Stars

EDMONTON -- Stuart Skinner was born and raised in Edmonton. He was 7 in 2006, the last time the Edmonton Oilers made the Stanley Cup Final. He knows the tales of the championships of 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990.

When the Oilers hosted the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium on Oct. 29, his goalie gear paid tribute to Hockey Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr. To make sure everyone saw his mask, he didn’t wear a toque.

He had to dream of a moment like this -- in net, in Edmonton, for Edmonton, one win from the Cup Final. The Oilers can get there by defeating the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at home Sunday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

Does he think about it? Does he try not to?

“Neither,” the 25-year-old said after the Oilers’ 3-1 win in Game 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday, sitting on the podium next to forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Just staying in the moment.”

Nugent-Hopkins nodded in agreement.

“Tomorrow, I get to live my life and go on the plane and beat these guys at Mario Kart,” Skinner said.

Nugent-Hopkins laughed, shook his head and mouthed the word “no.”

“I’ll probably get a couple first places,” Skinner said. “I’m sure of it. And besides that, it’s going to be awesome to go back home and be a dad, and then the next day, it’s time to get back to work.”

Perhaps that’s the best approach. Don’t increase the pressure. Release it. He should relax on the flight, get away from the rink and enjoy time with his wife, Chloe, and their 1-year-old son, Beau. 

The Stanley Cup Playoffs have presented twists and turns like Mario Kart, but Skinner has a shot at first place.

Skinner was pulled from Game 3 of the second round after allowing four goals on 15 shots in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Trailing the best-of-7 series 2-1, the Oilers started Calvin Pickard in Game 4. After a 3-2 win, they started Pickard again in Game 5. After a 3-2 loss, they went back to Skinner for Game 6.

Since then, Skinner has gone 5-2 with a 1.92 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

He had to stay in the moment in Game 5 against the Stars, especially in the first two periods. The Oilers allowed four shots in the first and six in the second.

“I’m sure any goalie would say the same thing,” Skinner said. “Sometimes it’s harder playing in games like that and just trying to do your very best to stay mentally engaged, physically engaged. That’s about all you can really do. It’s never easy.

“In my favor, I’ve been able to have a lot of games like that, the way that we play. I mean, we play so well, especially when we play full games like you saw tonight. I’ve had a lot of practice to be good in situations like this.”

Skinner made perhaps his biggest save during a penalty kill late in the second period. Dallas center Wyatt Johnston had a one-timer from the bumper position, and Skinner put his 6-foot-4 frame in the perfect spot, keeping the Edmonton lead at 3-0.

He stopped nine of 10 shots in the third.

“Stu was just solid,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He was square. He was quick. We win 3-1 tonight, and I think that’s a little skewed. I don’t think we were that much better tonight. I think just the fact that Stu made so many big saves tonight gave us a little bit of cushion and made it look easier than it was for our team.”

With another solid performance, Skinner could be playing for his hometown team in the Stanley Cup Final.

“It's pretty amazing what the guys can do in front of me when we play the way that we played tonight,” Skinner said. “I mean, you just see how hard we backcheck. You see obviously how hard we forecheck. The neutral zone, we were able to kind of stymie them tonight.

“Obviously, they’re a very fast team, and they were able get their chances when they had the opportunities, but for the most part, I think we just worked really hard. We got our legs moving tonight, and when we’re doing that, it makes my job a lot easier when I don’t get any shots. But at the same time, I’ve got to be there when those opportunities do come. Obviously, with an amazing team like Dallas, you know they’re going to get their chances.”