NHL.com identifies key EDGE stats matchups for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, which begins June 8, between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers. Today, we look at the goalie matchup between Sergei Bobrovsky and Stuart Skinner.
This series matches up Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner who led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final last year, and Stuart Skinner, who was tied with Bobrovsky for third in the NHL in wins (36) for the Oilers during the regular season.
Although perception may suggest Florida has an advantage in net with Bobrovsky (.915 career save percentage) for the championship round, Skinner (.910) is coming off an impressive series against the Dallas Stars (4-2; .922 SV%) in the Western Conference Final and has been comparable to Bobrovsky in various advanced metrics this postseason.
In terms of high-danger save percentage, Bobrovsky (.855 in 17 games) isn’t that far ahead of Skinner (.842 in 16 games). Bobrovsky has the better long-range save percentage (.988), meaning Skinner (.934) could struggle against any of the Panthers defensemen with goal-scoring upside (Gustav Forsling, Brandon Montour, Aaron Ekblad, Oliver Ekman-Larsson) – not to mention their potent forward group.
Skinner was a Calder Trophy finalist last season as one of the NHL’s top three rookies but had a slow start to this season (1-5-1, .854 save percentage in first eight games) before Edmonton bounced back with a 16-game winning streak (12-0-0, .950 SV%, one shutout in span). Skinner also temporarily took a back seat to Calvin Pickard, who had a .915 save percentage in three games (two starts) during the Oilers’ second-round series win against the Vancouver Canucks.
But, in terms of goals for (when a goalie is on the ice, excluding empty-net goals), Skinner has had more support from the Oilers (57) this postseason than Bobrovsky (55) has had from the Panthers. Skinner is also close behind Bobrovsky in number of games with greater than a .900 save percentage (Bobrovsky: 10; Skinner: eight).
Florida is the stronger possession team with a deeper defense and has certainly had a more difficult path to the Cup Final to this point. But while Bobrovsky has a much better even-strength save percentage (.913) than Skinner (.889) this postseason, he did struggle in the Cup Final last year against the eventual champion Vegas Golden Knights (1-4, .844 SV% in five games). Skinner, beyond just the conference finals, has also made big saves when opponents have had the man advantage this postseason, leading the NHL in power-play save percentage (.939; minimum five games).
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Full EDGE stats comparison: Bobrovsky vs. Skinner
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