Scenes From Morning Skate: Stuart Skinner declares the Oilers are fine
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Nov 1, 2025, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Nov 1, 2025, 14:22 EDT
Stuart Skinner stood in front of reporters as the Chicago Blackhawks rolled into Rogers Place and declared that the Edmonton Oilers are fine. He’s happy with how his game has been growing this season. Everything’s trending in the right direction. No need to worry.
The question is whether anyone should actually believe him.
Skinner has reason to feel good about (some) of his recent performances. His shutout at Madison Square Garden was the kind of game that reminds everyone what he’s capable of when he’s dialled in. Thirty saves. Complete control. The Oilers winning a tight, defensive game on the road against quality opposition. That’s the version of Skinner that can carry this team through tough stretches.
But one great game doesn’t erase the inconsistency that’s defined his season—and frankly, his career. For every shutout at MSG, there’s a game where he lets in a weak goal at a crucial moment. For every stretch where he looks like a legitimate starting goaltender, there’s a stretch where the coaching staff considers giving Calvin Pickard more starts just to see if anything changes.
The Oilers being “fine” is debatable. They’ve lost three of their last four. They’re still shuffling lines, trying to find combinations that work. They’re approaching November, still trying to figure out their game.
That’s not fine.
Skinner’s optimism about his game growing makes sense from his perspective. He’s making saves. He’s staying calm under pressure. The mental side of goaltending—the part that plagued him during rough stretches last season—seems more stable. Those are legitimate positives worth acknowledging.
“I’ve been doing a good job, and I’ve been getting better every day,” began Skinner. “So yeah, I feel really good in how I’ve been playing, and I feel really good about how we’ve all been playing, to be honest. Sometimes wins and losses don’t tell you exactly how you’re playing. I think the guys are doing a great job. They’re battling, they’re fighting, they’re doing everything they can to get into shooting lanes. We are sacrificing ourselves to win games, and we just have to do that for a whole game, and we’re going to do that tonight.”
The timing of this declaration matters too. The Blackhawks aren’t exactly an elite opponent. Chicago is rebuilding. They’re young. They’re figuring things out themselves. This is exactly the kind of game where Skinner should be able to back up his words with a dominant performance. If the Oilers are fine and his game is growing, prove it against a team you should handle comfortably.
The risk with public declarations like this is that they create pressure. Skinner just told everyone he’s happy with his game, and the team is fine. If he struggles against Chicago, those words get replayed endlessly. If the Oilers lose, the “fine” comment becomes a punchline. That’s the danger of projecting confidence when the results haven’t consistently backed it up.
“We are having talks about how we are going to get out of it, how we’re just going to play a stronger, simpler game,” continued Skinner. “And I think that’s really the big thing, is just keeping our game simple. Sometimes, when things aren’t going well, you want to do more, and sometimes you got to do the opposite.”
Should fans believe Skinner when he says the Oilers are fine? Maybe. The talent is there. The roster has the pieces to compete. Recent performances show they’re capable of playing good hockey when they commit to it. But capability and consistency are different things, and right now this team—Skinner included—has shown a lot of the former and not enough of the latter.
Belief requires evidence. Skinner’s shutout at MSG is evidence. His overall body of work this season is less convincing. The Oilers blowing multiple leads and sitting at .500 a month into the season doesn’t exactly scream “fine.”
Until words become actions, declarations about being fine feel premature. Skinner might be happy with how his game is growing. The Oilers might believe they’re trending in the right direction. But the results tell a different story—one of inconsistency, blown leads, and a team still searching for its identity a month into the season.
Actions speak louder than words. It’s time for Skinner and the Oilers to prove to everyone that they’re actually fine, instead of just saying it.
Lines and Pairings
RNH-McDavid-Mangiapane
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Roslovic
Savoie-Henrique-Frederic
Howard-Philp-Lazar
Extras: Tomášek-Hyman
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Walman
Kulak-Emberson
Extras: Stecher-Regula
Skinner
Pickard
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