Oilers' Skinner bounces back with superb effort, shutout against Kings

Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) and teammate Calvin Pickard (30) celebrate the win over the Los Angeles Kings at the end of NHL action in Edmonton, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

EDMONTON — It was a game that had a playoff vibe and Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner answered the bell accordingly.

Skinner made 31 stops to earn his second shutout of the season as the Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating their Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Kings 1-0 on Monday.

It was Skinner’s sixth shutout of his career for the Oilers (27-13-3) who have won six of their last seven games to move four points ahead of the Kings into second place in the Pacific Division race. The Oilers are four points back of the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.

Skinner was called upon early in the contest to make a massive stop on a Kings’ two-on-one opportunity as Anze Kopitar sent it across to Adrian Kempe and he unleashed a bullet that Skinner got a glove on, with the puck landing on top of the net.

“It was an amazing pass by Kopitar and then Kempe got a good shot and I just went into a spread and did everything that I could,” Skinner said.

“It was kind of an out-of-the-box save, obviously. I got enough for it to go above the net, thank goodness. It was a really good save and just what we needed.”

Connor McDavid, who scored the game’s lone goal on his 28th birthday, said Skinner kept the Oilers in it while they worked to get their legs going.

“He’s playing great,” the captain said. “He was really good early on. That save on the two-on-one really gets us going and helps a lot. This is a team that you want to play out in front of. When they get a lead on you they can make it pretty tough. It was a huge save and he was solid all night.”

Skinner has been rock solid for the Oilers of late, going 11-3-1 in his last 15 starts, and has shown the ability to bounce back from the occasional tough game like his last outing, a 5-3 loss in Pittsburgh.

“I think for myself, personally, I’ve gone through a lot of experiences that have helped me get more resilient as the years go on,” said the 26-year-old Edmonton native. “After games like that (against the Penguins) you always want to come back and really bring it and show the guys that you can bounce back. I think that’s an extremely important thing for a goalie to be able to do.”

Skinner came into the game having won each of his last eight starts when losing his previous game, posting a 1.75 GAA and .938 save percentage in those games.

Edmonton and Los Angeles are the two hottest teams in the NHL since Nov. 21, with the Kings now sporting a 13-4-2 record during that span and Edmonton now at 16-4-1. The win felt a playoff victory.

“It was very much a playoff game where two teams just went at it and played really solid,” Skinner said. “They’re a heck of a team. They know how to play us as well as we know how to play them. That is what makes it so much fun and so exciting.

“I’m really happy that we were able to get this win, especially after they beat us last game.”

The Kings defeated Edmonton 4-3 in overtime in their only previous meeting in Los Angeles on Dec. 28.

The two teams have met the last three years in the playoffs with Edmonton emerging victorious in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023 and five games last spring.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press