TheNumber4
Registered User
- Nov 11, 2011
- 43,800
- 54,701
Hadn’t heard that one. But Woodley’s take is in line with another goalie expert in Jesse Granger for The Athetlic. I’ll post it again:It’s pretty incredible how Skinner has come into a tough situation and not completely fallen apart. In my opinion there’s maybe 5-7 elite goalies in the league and the rest of them all over around the average mark and much of what separates them is situation.
I always think back to an interview Kevin Woolley did where he talked about how playing goalie for this version of the Oilers isn’t easy because for one the expectations are sky high, this is a team that expects to contend and win night in and night out. But also he said it’s a tough team to play behind because defensively they aren’t always consistent and while they improved greatly under Knoblauch it was still a team that maybe didn’t give up as much in terms of shots or chances but when they did have defensive break downs they resulted in some of the most dangerous chances possible. He talked about how difficult that is for even the best goalies because often you’re not getting a lot of work and not able to get into a rhythm but you’re expected to stop ten bell chances consistently.
I think the Ullmark trade is going to be a perfect example of the goaltender position. The guy has been one of the best goalies in the league the last few years. He won’t be the same in Ottawa.
“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.“