Oilers’ Skinner focused on his game as 4 Nations Face-Off selection looms

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In the latest California Closets TV commercial, a laid-back Stuart Skinner — nice suit, big hat — reaches into a drawer full of watches and straps one on his wrist.

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Now, if you’re an Edmonton Oilers fan, maybe the snarky metaphor is it’s time for the Edmonton Oilers goalie to start playing better. But Skinner doesn’t much care about his stats, only the wins, channelling one of his heroes, Grant Fuhr.

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Skinner isn’t into social media so he doesn’t know that some fans are clamouring for the Oilers to trade for, say, Mackenzie Blackwood in San Jose to push Skinner, or go even bigger and deal for John Gibson in Anaheim, who makes $6.4 million AAV — likely a non-starter in the Oilers’ tight cap world, folks — even if nobody really knows if Gibson has the game or the ire left, after being on a bad Ducks’ team for so long.

Truth is, the Oilers are sticking with Skinner, so bag those trade ruminations. He’s their guy, even with a ho-hum 7-6 win-loss record because he usually gets stronger as the season wears on, and the Oilers play better, even with his current .882 save percentage, which is considerably south of the NHL’s median .900 for goalies these days. Certainly well off last season’s .905, but upon closer inspection, his .882 is not far off two Stanley Cup winners Sergei Bobrovsky at .885, or Adin Hill’s .887.

He’s not sweating his numbers. Like filming the commercials.

“I’m just a really good actor,” he said, jokingly.

He’s also a really good goalie who had some rough patches against Vancouver for sure in Round 2 of the playoffs last spring, but outplayed Jake Oettinger in the last game of the Dallas series to get the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final.

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“I feel really good about my game. Obviously there’s things I have to work on and the team does to be a little bit stronger, but overall I’ve got to keep working on the process … you know, day to day,” said Skinner, who admits he has to get more consistent games and will likely get the start in Utah Friday after beating Ottawa (5-2) and New York Rangers (6-2) last week on the heels of a 4-3 OT loss in Toronto.

What is a good save percentage for an NHL goalie, in Skinner’s mind?

“I have no idea. You would hope to get over .900. It’s a tricky thing, the whole numbers game. Big thing is getting the wins. I know that’s a cliché of an answer for you but if you give up eight and your team scores nine, that’s a win. I mean, giving up eight isn’t pretty, but the win gives you two points,” he said.

“You could have an .860 average as a goalie, .500 or 1.000, all I see is you’ve got 60 of the best goaltenders in the world competing in this league.”

Wins, baby. Like the Hall of Fame Oilers goalie Fuhr says.

“Yeah I talk to him a lot, even if you’re complaining about his golf game, he just wants to win,” said Skinner.

“I agree that consistency is very tough thing to accomplish, especially in the NHL, playing against all these incredible teams,” said Skinner. “It’s about doing the same things every single day. It can sound boring, especially for a goalie, but I like boring.”

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Goalies are supposed to make the saves they should and some they shouldn’t in games. Skinner could use a few more. But goalies are also at the mercy of the defenders in front of him. When the Oilers started 2-9-1 last season, Skinner was just a bad as the team. When they won 16 straight and tightened up, Skinner seemed to win every game 2-1 or 3-2.

Goalies are always the lightning rod, of course. Blame game in losses, for sure.

“I try to block that out. I don’t even like talking about it. It can be all your fault and the world’s ending or you’re the greatest goalie in the entire world. Riding that roller-coaster can be a very dangerous thing for a goalie. Your ego can get in the way when hearing those things. It can put you in a depressed state or, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m amazing.’ But they are completely not true,” said Skinner.

“I learned that in my first year when I was on social media and I was reading stuff and I was thinking, ‘That’s pretty cool.’ But I deleted all that stuff five years ago.”

Predictability of shots is big for goalies.

In the 5-3 loss to Minnesota last week, there were a lot of breakdowns. Not so in the easy win over the Rangers. “Predictability does mean a lot. Minnesota was a bit of a bouncing game, a lot of broken plays, a little scrambly. We learned our lesson pretty quickly and took it into the Ranger game,” he said.

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Now the question is whether Skinner’s up-and-down work in the first quarter of the season will push him out of the three-goalie selection for Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Jordan Billington in St. Louis seems an automatic but Hill has been ordinary in Vegas. Skinner, Logan Thompson, who used to tag-team with Hill’s Golden Knights before moving to Washington, Joey Daccord in Seattle, even Fleury, who turns 40 on Thursday, are in the mix.

“I’m sure there’s been stuff (commentary) on TV and stuff on social media but I’m not a part of that. I don’t watch TV much, except for Survivor right now,” he said of the selection coming out Dec. 4.

“I’m not sure what I’ll be saying, either way. It would be such an incredible accomplishment playing against the world’s best.”

“I never wrote it down as a goal. I just know it’s about how you’re playing and there’s a lot of uncontrollables. There’s lots of things out of my control.”

Skinner and his wife Chloe are expecting a second baby boy for Beau on Feb. 1, just before the tournament would start. “You make the team and it’s an incredible feat, an amazing thing playing against the best, a dream come true, but if I don’t make it I get to spend time with my newborn,” he said.

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Skinner is also a newbie compared to Fleury, who is retiring after this season with his 1,000th career start against the Oilers in the Minnesota game.

“I got an autographed stick from him,” said Skinner.

“He’s an amazing man. I’ve been able to talk to him as we’re stretching. He’s had some good insight for me. He’s always exuberant. It always looks like he’s having so much fun out there. It looks like that would be a very joyful way to play in the NHL. I absolutely would like to take that,” said Skinner.

Skinner watched as Fleury let in Leon Draisaitl’s 180-footer in the first minute of the Wild game, the puck bouncing crazily over Fleury’s stick-swipe. “I actually felt sorry for him. I mean it’s nice to be up 1-0 that early but you never want to see a goalie giving up that goal. It wasn’t his fault, at all. But if anyone could handle something like that, it’s Fleury,” said Skinner.

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