Elliotte Friedman overlooks Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl to pick $7,800,000 Oilers goalie as 'best player' in Game 3 win against Stars

After the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 3, Elliotte Friedman made a surprising choice. On the Monday episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, he picked goalie Stuart Skinner as the best player. This was unexpected because Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl also played very well.

Skinner is signed to a three-year, $7.8 million contract with a $2.6 million cap hit per season, as per Spotrac. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025–26 season. In Game 3, he made 33 saves. The Stars had 14 high-danger chances and controlled most of the game at five-on-five. Still, Skinner stopped almost everything.

Friedman said Skinner’s confidence stood out and helped the Oilers win (1:45):

"I have to say, it wasn't a true Skinner performance, shutout, or six goals, but it was his best performance of the playoffs. I don't care that. It wasn't a shutout. Skinner was the Oilers' best player, and that's as confident as he has looked in a net these playoffs. Now he's got to be consistent. He's got to keep doing it."

Meanwhile, McDavid scored two goals in the game. His first goal came 36 seconds after the Oilers' opening goal. He beat the defender, got a pass back, and scored with a one-timer. His second goal came late in the second period. He grabbed a loose puck and shot it stick-side past Jake Oettinger.

Even with those goals, Friedman still picked Skinner as the top performer. The Stars were pushing hard, but Skinner made big saves:

"You saw Kevin's pack of him walking to the ice for the start of the game, like Vince McMahon or Conor McGregor. He looked confident. He was confident. It was a W, which is the only stat for him that matters."

McDavid now leads the playoffs with 22 points. He passed Draisaitl and Mikko Rantanen in the scoring race.

Zach Hyman and Stuart Skinner praise Oilers captain Connor McDavid

Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had three-point games. Hyman said people forget McDavid can score a lot, not just pass. Hyman leads the playoffs in hits with 109.

“I think people forget he’s a 60-goal scorer,” Hyman said, via The Athletic. “He’s an underrated goal scorer. He can score goals. He just makes the right play, whether it’s a pass or a goal. He’s the best player in the world. When he has an opportunity to shoot it, and he shoots it, there’s a good chance it goes in.”

The Oilers had five different defensemen score goals in the playoffs. Eighteen skaters have scored so far. But Skinner made the biggest impact in Game 3. He’s had four great games since taking over for Calvin Pickard.

Skinner said Connor McDavid’s play in all three zones has been impressive.

“He was fantastic,” Skinner said. “The way that he plays in all three ends of the ice has been very impressive through the whole playoffs.”

The Oilers have won many games in the playoffs, in which McDavid and Draisaitl didn’t even need to take over. But Game 3 showed both offense and goaltending working together. And in this game, Friedman saw Skinner as the key reason for the win.