Oilers’ move to replace Skinner in goal pays off with an OT win to even Stanley Cup Final
Kris Knoblauch’s desperation finally overcame his stubbornness Thursday — just in time to save the Edmonton Oilers’ season.
Knoblauch’s better-late-than-never decision to bench Stuart Skinner for Calvin Pickard after the first intermission was the No. 1 reason the Florida Panthers are heading back to Canada in a 2-2 series tie instead of one win from another Stanley Cup title.
Pickard came off the bench to stop 22 of the 23 shots he faced, including a would-be game-winner by Panthers forward Sam Bennett in overtime, to key a thrilling 5-4 Oilers win and steal home ice back from a Panthers team that looked unbeatable in the first 20 minutes.
Skinner’s third straight shaky start might have cost him his job for good. He gave up three more goals in the first period — two by Matthew Tkachuk — putting the Oilers in a world of trouble.
Knoblauch knew that any more blood would have probably put even the high-powered Oilers in hole too deep to climb out of.
So he made the move he had resisted, sitting Skinner and turning to Pickard. Smart decision. Pickard made a series of marvelous saves to improve to 7-0 in the playoffs.
But the decision seemed to catch even the man of the hour by surprise
“Our team was flat,” Knoblauch said, when asked to explain the move.
“Obviously, you’d like to get a little bit of notice, getting right into the room [during the first intermission],” Pickard joked on TNT postgame. “But [Knoblauch] waited until right at the 11th hour there, about three and a half minutes left on the clock. I kind of had to scramble and get my gear on.”
“… We play great hockey from behind. It was an unbelievable effort.”
Pickard shouldn’t see the bench again. Knoblauch wouldn’t commit to a Game 5 starter, but he certainly didn’t give Skinner a vote of confidence.
Pickard has allowed two goals on 31 shots this series and has a 2.69 goals-against average this postseason. While Skinner was better than his backup in the first three rounds, he has cratered in this series, allowing 16 goals on 114 shots.
Asked what the difference was between the first period (when the Panthers scored three goals on Skinner) and the final two plus overtime, Panthers forward Anton Lundell replied:
“I think we just as a team, we kind of sat back a little back.”
Lundell continued: “It’s a 0-0 series right now and you, best-of-3, it’s good. You know, we didn’t expect it to be easy. It shouldn’t be easy.”
It certainly won’t get any easier if Pickard continues to play like he did Thursday.
“It was a good hockey game,” said Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed five goals on 30 shots, including the game-winner in overtime by Leon Draisaitl. “We had a good start. They came back. The series comes down to best-of-3. We’re excited about that.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 12:59 AM.