With Carolina in town Tuesday night, absolutely we should flash back to another game against the ‘Canes — the turning point of the Edmonton Oilers and goalie Stu Skinner’s 2023-24 season, when the Oilers were taken to the woodshed 6-3 in Raleigh last Nov. 22 and Skinner was yanked after giving up four goals on 14 shots in the first 15 minutes.
After that game 11 months ago, the Oilers won eight in a row, and Skinner rebounded, giving up 12 goals over seven of those games.
“I remember in the warm-up I tripped and went all the way over to the other side of the ice and bumped into a couple of Carolina players. I was just shaking my head. And my getting pulled was a pretty devastating way to play the game,” recalled Skinner, who was in a funk, just like the players in front of him.
“Afterwards we spoke about how we needed to be playing, and, to be honest, watching how Carolina played was super helpful … they kept the puck in our end the whole time and their execution level was a lot higher.”
“We built off our talk and after that you saw us building belief in each other. Once we learned we had to play together, the rest is, uh, history,” said Skinner, who had a 5-0 shutout in Washington next game to kick off the eight-game streak, which was a harbinger of things to come, like the 16-game winning streak later in the season.
Skinner wound up leading the NHL in wins over his last 50 games.
Getting pulled is the ultimate kick in the head for goalies, of course.
Especially in-game, skating to the bench, for the reliever.
Can a goalie categorically tell in a game when the coaches are going to give him the hook?
“Sometimes you get the feeling if things are going poorly. You never want to, obviously. You never want to be looking at the bench. For example, in our first game this year, after Winnipeg’s fifth one, I’m guessing they’re thinking about it,” he said.
And Calvin Pickard came in mop-up duty.
Easier to get pulled during a period intermission for the backup?
“Doesn’t matter when. It’s the worst feeling to get pulled because you realized you didn’t do your team a service,” he said.
Skinner didn’t see Tampa’s goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy give Leafs’ defenceman Morgan Rielly a snow-shower as Rielly kneeled on his side of centre during pre-game warm-up Monday night, but he chuckled at it, because it’s usually the other way around, in games. Rielly did voice his displeasure to Vasilevskiy, who didn’t appear to realize what he had done.
“I have a bit of a routine in warm-up. If somebody’s in the way, they’ll probably get showered with snow but I, uh, I don’t think I have done it (sliding as Vasilevskiy) did,” said Skinner, whose other routine is sitting on the bench after a game-day practice when starting, and that one goes back to when he had just turned pro.
“In my first year in the ECHL I was pretty stressed. I wanted to get up to the next league. Then once I did that (in his second pro year, to Bakersfield), I would sit on the bench. It was a way for hydration, some liquid after the skate. But also I would be looking up into the stands and realizing where you are, understanding you could be in a lot worse places that where you are today. Realizing the moment you’re in,” said Skinner.
And trying to figure out what to say to the media later?
“Exactly. It’s been going through my mind for the last couple of weeks,” he laughed.
HOUSE CALLS BY THIS DOC
What does Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame defenceman and assistant coach Paul Coffey remember about Dr. Randy Gregg, who is going onto the Oilers Wall of Fame Friday? Apart from the five Stanley Cup rings, that is.
“He brought a little bit of class to the neighbourhood. We started reading books on the plane, right?” said Coffey, who was Gregg’s first NHL partner back in 1982 in the playoffs against Los Angeles Kings.
“Doc was really, really intellectual, in a good way. He was fun to talk to.”
“And of course, he was our Ken Morrow (the Islanders underrated defenceman). Stick’s in the way, doesn’t hit you. That said, Doc had a competitive temper. He was perfect for our six D.”
NO HALL OF FAME LOVE
Every time the players selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame comes out, there’s no Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour on the list, which seems a pretty large oversight.
The outstanding two-way centre won two Selke awards, a Stanley Cup in Carolina and was captain of the Canes and alternate in Philly for years. As leaders go, there were few better.
He’s been eligible since 2013, yet no happy dance.
He’s not alone of course. Not having Alex Mogilny in the HHOF year after year is frankly ridiculous. Pavel Bure’s in, but not Mogilny. Why? Keith Tkachuk rates, too, as does Patrik Elias. Same with Curtis Joseph, who won 446 games in net, and Jennifer Botterill. But no calls from the HHOF.
Brind’Amour was a big-time playoff contributor with 111 points in 159 games. In regular season he played 1,484 games and had 1,184 points. He’s 54th in career points, top 25 in games played.
This ‘n that: Winger Roby Jarventie, who missed all of training camp with a knee issue, is back skating with the Oilers and the forward acquired in the summer Xavier Bourgault trade should be on his way to Bakersfield in the next little while. When he does go to the AHL farm, the $107,000 on the Oilers salary cap will come off the books. Bourgault is playing for Ottawa’s AHL farm team in Belleville … Sam Gagner, who seems like the perfect player development hire for an NHL team down the road, says he’s not ready to give that a go. “I already do it (player development) with Muskoka Hockey. Just not quite ready to transition full-time yet,” he said … Oil Kings’ right-shot defenceman Blake Fiddler, former NHLer Vern’s son, has been named to the CHL squad for the two-game exhibition series next month with USA’s top prospects. Fiddler could be a late first-round or early second-round pick in the 2025 draft. “There’s a lot to like about Blake,” said Ladi Smid, the former Oilers defenceman, on the junior Oil Kings’ coaching staff … Former Oilers farmhand Raphael Lavoie has played two games for Henderson in the AHL after Vegas claimed him off waivers. No points yet … Don Jackson, Gregg’s former Oilers Stanley Cup defence partner, is flying in for the Friday-night ceremony. Jackson, 68, was a long-term head coach in Germany and before that was a Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago and Ottawa assistant coach.