Skinner has one of the easiest jobs in the league playing on one of the best defensive teams in the league. Near the top in shot and high danger chance suppression. His stats do not reflect the way the oilers play defensively.
That being said, is it his fault? Absolutely not. He's in over his head. He's not a starter in the NHL and that is the organizations fault. They've not prioritized goaltending and if he's their way of fixing it, they're failing him and fans.
Skinner is an above average backup, nothing more. I think the complaining stems from annoyance that the Oilers don't seem to care about who is in net and people blindly defending the kid. He's not as bad as some people think, but he is not even close to as good as some think.
The oilers are a great shot and chance suppression team, but I do think there’s some truth to theory that when they break down, they break down huge.
I also think that there’s truth to the often cited theory that it’s hard for goalies to get in the groove when they don’t see much pucks.
I think this leads to environment that’s not friendly to goalie stats.
Think about it, if Skinner ever has a night where he’s feeling it and on the top of his game, he doesn’t get to pad stats in that situation cause the oilers rarely get shot dominated. He’s left without that oppurtunity that other goalies are in that situation.
I know the theory might sound wack, or like I’m giving Skinner excuses, but I’m not the only one that’s had this thought or similar thoughts, the Athletics Goalie Expert Jesse Granger had a similar theory:
“The save percentage hasn’t been good, the stats aren’t great. But you play for a team that is not good for goalie stats. The oilers play a style where they possess the puck a lot, and you don’t get a huge volume of shots, but then when they do give up a chance because they are so aggressive offensively it’s a really dangerous chance. So I’ll give him a bit of a break on his save percentage. I don’t think the oilers play like a team where any goalie can step in and play .920, I think it’s the opposite for him. If you get the best out of skinner you have a chance at the cup.“
Your statement “he’s not a starter in the NHL” is more hyperbolic, mistruths from the Stu doubter community that can’t be verified with any actual stats. The oilers are a great defending team, but no way are we so great that we are making the playoffs 3 years in a row, while being cup favorites, and getting to the SCF finals with a non-starter goalie in net. That’s a just a ridiculous notion.