“What outside noise?”: Stuart Skinner shrugs off media pressure on Oilers

Stuart Skinner helped the Edmonton Oilers earn a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4. He made 23 saves and earned his first win of the 2024 playoffs. The Oilers now lead the second-round series 3-1.

Before the Game 4 win, there were questions surrounding Skinner's performance this postseason. He started for the Oilers in round 1 but was replaced in Game 3 after losing Game 1 and 2. He started for the Oilers in round 2, Game 3, after goalie Calvin Pickard's injury, but lost that game.

After the game, Skinner was asked if the outside noise from fans and media had any effect on him or the team. He replied:

[2:50] “What outside noise?”

When asked again, he said,

“No, I have no idea. No clue what’s going on.”

Before this game, Skinner had allowed 15 goals in three playoff starts. His save performance quietened many of his critics.

Stuart Skinner made several solid saves during the game. He stopped Ivan Barbashev early on a partial break. He denied Brayden McNabb on a close chance and ended the first period by saving a one-timer from Pavel Dorofeyev.

In the second period, Stuart Skinner handled a backhand from Noah Hanifin. Later, he calmly stopped a shot after a turnover by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. In the third, he stopped Jack Eichel, Dorofeyev, and Tomas Hertl. He also stopped Brett Howden's shot with nine minutes left.

---

Stuart Skinner gave credit to his teammates after 3-0 win

Adam Henrique scored twice in the first period. His first goal came at 1:27 after Connor Brown forced a turnover. Henrique scored again after a pass from Zach Hyman. Evander Kane made it 3-0 in the second period with Connor McDavid's assist.

Stuart Skinner gave credit to his teammates in the shutout win.

[0:05] "Yeah, it felt great," Skinner said. "Um, I mean all I can really say is thanks to the guys playing in front of me. They, uh, they were amazing tonight. Made my job a lot easier. Uh, they were battling, a lot of blocked shots, and I mean the way that we played defensively was, uh, superb. So a lot of credit to the guys."

Edmonton outshot Vegas 15-5 in the first period, and 10-7 in the second. Vegas had more shots in the third, 11-7, but could not score. Adin Hill made 29 saves for the Golden Knights. Now, they will have to win the next two games to force a Game 7.

Game 5 is in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, and the Oilers need one more win to reach the Western Conference final.