After picking up their first win against the Canucks on Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers hit the road for the first of a five-game trip that has them bopping around the East Coast. Last night, the boys landed at Madison Square Garden for a matchup against a Rangers team that will be extremely motivated to avenge last season’s playoff miss. Unfortunately, the Oilers had other plans. Despite not being the best team on the ice, a timely goal from Trent Frederic and a shutout by Stuart Skinner gave Edmonton the opening they needed to steal a win. They don’t all have to be perfect, but two points is two points.

There isn’t an athlete in Edmonton carrying more pressure on their shoulders than our boy Stuart Skinner. Try and think of one with more. I can’t. Sure, there’s pressure on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl because of who they are, on Darnell Nurse because of how much money he makes, and on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins because he’s been here forever and needs to produce more offence. The list goes on. But for Stuart Skinner, it’s a different story. He’s the one with the most important job on the ice.

As much as the forwards and D need to execute on every shift, Stu’s the guy who either stops shots or doesn’t. Great goaltending can cover up a world of mistakes, while bad goaltending can undo even the best performances in front of it. When you’re in a Cup window like the Oilers are, you really see how razor-thin the line is between winning and losing. And in the last two Stanley Cup Finals, what happened in net was a detail the Oilers didn’t have on their side.

For better or worse, Stuart Skinner is in a situation where every mistake is magnified to the maximum, and that made the stinker he let in against the Flames on the tying goal of last Wednesday’s opener feel like a bomb went off. Even though the first two goals were wildly unlucky, the third, a bad one, was all anyone wanted to talk about. A shootout loss in the first game of the regular season isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but this one felt personal for a lot of people because of that single moment on the way there.

And since goaltending was all anyone talked about all summer that wasn’t McDavid-contract-related, you can almost feel the tension with every shot on goal. That’s not Stu’s fault, but it is absolutely his problem. So to see him turn in a performance like he did on a night when the team in front of him wasn’t at its best was the perfect f-you to the overreaction from the season opener. Nothing quiets the haters quite like a shutout to steal a win from the Rangers at MSG. I know he’d never admit it, but that had to feel good after taking heat from all angles over the last few days.

I don’t know about any of you, but I’m bullish on my expectations for Trent Frederic in his first full year with the Oilers. I know the first impression he made during the playoffs wasn’t the greatest, but I’m choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt that his ankle injury took a lot out of him. We’ve gotten used to Leon Draisaitl turning into Hercules on a bum ankle in the playoffs, but that’s not a normal thing for earthly humans. Draisaitl’s the freak here, so I’m giving Frederic a bit of a pass.

But now that he’s had the summer to get healthy and locked in his monster deal, I want to see what the big man can do with two healthy getaway pegs driving him forward. Even though the experiment with McDavid and Draisaitl didn’t work through two games (for now), I actually thought Frederic was moving better than I remember despite the fit not being right. And if he was skating better, it seems reasonable to expect the results to improve as well. Put another way: the results had better improve.

And sure enough, that progress showed up in a big way against the Rangers. Frederic buried his first regular-season goal as an Oiler — and first of the year — at 10:22 of the second period on a breakaway he slipped five-hole on Igor Shesterkin for what ended up being the game-winner. Assisted by Kasperi Kapanen, it was the kind of depth goal the Oilers desperately need if they’re going to win tight games when the big dogs aren’t the ones doing the damage.

We all know the contract situation and the expectations that come with it, and having him score a big goal in last night’s win was a solid step in the right direction. In the end, Freddy finished with 12:54 in ice time, two shots, three blocks, three hits, and a +1 rating. I know we still need more, but that was a tidy little effort that checked all the boxes we need from him. It’s only one night, and I know we need this kind of result consistently, but if Frederic can keep playing with that pace and confidence, he’s going to make a lot of people forget the lacklustre results from last spring.

From my side of the TV screen, Jack Roslovic’s debut as an Oiler came with more questions than answers. He’s on a one-year, $1.5-million deal that feels a lot like a tryout to see whether he can carve out a role before Zach Hyman returns from LTIR. The contract itself is odd — he’s got a no-move clause that turns into a four-team trade list on November 1 — meaning he can’t be waived after that date and can only be dealt to one of those four clubs. Combine that with the fact that Hyman will be back in early November, plus the looming returns of Jake Walman and Mattias Janmark, and suddenly November 1 becomes a pressure point for the coaching staff where some guys get squeezed out.

When everyone’s healthy, the Oilers could be as many as three players over the roster limit, and the only answer to that problem is that someone has to go. That’s what makes Roslovic such an interesting scratch ticket. He had 22 goals last year in Carolina — most of them at even strength — and consistent 5-on-5 scoring is something the Oilers have needed for as long as I can remember. If Roslovic can chip in without needing power-play time, that alone could buy him some leash with the brass, even if his defensive game isn’t exactly his best trait.

But Roslovic is also the kind of player who needs to ride with skill to be effective, and we may just wind up with another Jeff Skinner situation if that doesn’t happen. Maybe he sticks. Maybe he’s just another name that pops up as a “remember that guy?” moment in random conversations. Like Joni Pitkanen. Remember him? Either way, Kris Knoblauch has some big calls to make in the coming days and weeks, and how he handles the cap-dancing could shape more than just the lineup. We might see some people leaving town we didn’t expect.

We’re beyond excited to announce our latest partnership with Odd Company Brewing to bring you the all-new Nation Beer Everyday Lager! Whether you’re watching the big game, chilling with friends, or just kicking back after a long day, this crisp, refreshing lager is the perfect choice. It’s the brew you can count on anytime, anywhere. So, why not make it your next game-day tradition? Nation Beer Everyday Lager is available now at Odd Company Brewing and through Liquor Connect. Don’t miss out—grab yours today and take your beer game to the next level! Cheers, Nation Citizens!