Had the question been posed over who the better goaltender was, Stuart Skinner or Jake Oettinger, the response would have been immediate and the question laughable, because, duh.
Something along the lines of “Have you ever watched hockey?” would come to mind.
Understandable.
We all watched the same regular season, we all saw why Oettinger had a 0.909 save percentage as opposed to Skinner’s subpar 0.896, and we’ve all seen why Oettinger possesses a better playoff GAA than he did in the regular season, unlike Skinner.
So, how does the better goaltender go from winning 6-3 to losing 0-3? And more importantly, how does Skinner have three playoff shutouts compared to Oettinger’s zero?
The answer is heartbreakingly simple. The Edmonton Oilers know everything that’s been listed too.
They know that if they don’t block shots — such as the 17 stopped before they could reach Skinner on Friday night — the margin between goals for and against gets dangerously close to the negatives. Just as the Dallas Stars know they (typically) don’t have to.
Trust Ottinger, and he will do the rest.
Most of the time.
So, for not the last time, have the Oilers transitioned into a defence-minded team as opposed to a highlight reel bunch?
“Yes, we can play defence,” joked (?) Connor McDavid. “Probably not as run and gun as we’ve been in years past (but) the forwards are coming out really hard, everyone’s selling out, blocking shots — that’s what it takes.
“Guys are doing everything they can to help this team win. It’s probably not as entertaining to watch for the folks at home, but we’re winning games and that’s all that really matters.”
How the Oilers win their games and score their goals? Not so much.
So let’s examine those goals, shall we?
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring with a largely undefended tip on the doorstep.
But hey, Dallas was on the penalty kill; perhaps this one could be let go.
Then Brett Kulak scores on a second shot attempt off Mikko Rantanen’s skate. What?
A shot off a blocked shot — maybe that one counts as well defended.
And then Connor Brown scores.
Another tip that went undefended. This time, five-on-five, no blocked shots, and entirely up to Oettinger to make the save, as it should be.
This is the NHL after all, and goalies, for the most part, should stand on their own.
It’s up to the team in front of them to make every shot they can’t block, as difficult as possible or the shooter.
It is only some teams that feel this sense of urgency more strongly than others.
Enter the Oilers with their get ‘er done goals and slightly better defence.
“They got a great goalie, you gotta make it hard on them,” agreed McDavid. “Get bodies there, get pucks there, and try to bang one in.”
And so they did. Three times.
As many goals for as many blocked shots by Leon Draisaitl, Jake Walman, and Evan Bouchard.
The trio of players who played better in front of their goaltender, and the goaltender, who, to his credit, came through with those rare saves typically expected by Oettinger, but nonetheless appreciated.
Enter this fine line of Oilers playoff hockey.
The need to trust their goaltender enough to manage offence, while blocking enough shots because they can’t trust their goaltender too much.
It’s rather exhausting.
On Friday night, though, the Oilers managed the load, and Dallas learned that even with Ottinger, sometimes they need to blow bodies out in front of the paint, lest Edmonton score a goal.
“As players, you don’t get an appreciation for how hard the goalie battles. We got our own thing to worry about,” explained McDavid. “We trust he’s going to do his job back there and battle, try to see the puck, and make every save he can. And he did that, he made every save.”
“Part of the reason we’re talking about how we’re so much better defensively is that yeah, we had breakdowns tonight, we did give up some good chances… (but) Stu comes up big,” added Kris Knoblauch. “And he made really big saves tonight. Yes, our team had some blocked shots, and yeah, we defended well, but Stu had a lot of timely saves.”
