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Edmonton Players Deserved Better. |
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You may think I’m crazy, but I firmly believe this Edmonton Oilers team was the best team in the NHL Playoffs. It’s not just about the two best players in the NHL playing at an epic high level. It’s not just about the best power-play we’ve ever seen in the playoffs. It’s not just about the rise of Boucher and the addition of Ekholm giving them a legit contending defense…. It’s not just about the fact that there was no penalty called when Ekholm had a piece of his cheek gouged out in the third period
Edmonton is a team with great depth and heart. Watching last nights third period was literally the best third period I’ve ever seen a team play….but due to bad luck, posts, and some extremely timely goaltending buy Aiden Hill, the Oilers ran out of time. Yes, they didn’t just lose the series last night. They lost the series before last night through so many bad coaching decisions.
Edmonton’s goaltending once again let them down…BUT this is not Skinner’s fault either. Sure, he did not have a good series….But the kid battled. HE IS A ROOKIE. The fact he was forced into this situation after being pulled game after game was truly and utterly some of the worst coaching I’ve ever seen. Edmonton needs to be hopeful that this doesn’t mess him up moving forward.
I know Campbell struggled this year in Edmonton. Ok…well he struggled the first half of the year. Skinner had every right being the goalie to start the playoffs. Even though his statistics for 15th out of goalies in the first round, You can argue that a goalie on Edmonton simply just has to stop more goals then the opponents goalie….
But that wasn’t the story. The story was a coaching staff, that for some reason acted like Campbell was the worst goalie they’d ever seen. Showing absolutely no faith at all in a guy the team signed to a multiyear deal 9 months ago. A guy who historically has proven himself a good solid pressure goalie. Per team USA and even for Toronto. His playoff numbers for Toronto last year were way better than Skinners numbers were this year for Edmonton.
Add to that Campbell’s performance in the one game he saved off the bench in the first round…That probably was the only reason Edmonton got to the second round.
Statistics can be misleading, however these aren’t. In these playoffs…..
Campbell. 1-0. GAA 1.01. %961
Skinner 5-6. GAA 3.68 %883
After Skinner was pulled in two games in this series, how does he start game 6? AND after he gives up 3 goals on 15 shots in game 6, how does he stay in.
The reality is, the Oilers played very well despite him. Continually managed to fight back.,.. Why their coach would give them only one period to try to come back from two goals with Campbell in net…. It’s truly inexcusable.
The look on McDavid’s face said it all… The guy just turned in the best season since Mario Lemieux and none of it matters because of goaltending again. Campbell was good enough to win a Stanley Cup with these Edmonton Oilers. I’m not saying he’s the greatest goalie of all time. They didn’t need the greatest goalie of all time to win a Cup. They were so much better than everybody else honestly.
Just watching them and how they could turn it on was at times fantastic.
And they make mistakes…sure they make mistakes. But considering how little confidence they had in their goaltender it’s amazing they didn’t make more mistakes. Confidence in a goalie changes everything.
And again I am not blaming Skinner. At all. He’s a rookie goalie who is still learning how to play in the playoffs, but was given absolutely no support by a coaching staff that for some reason decided Campbell was the worst goalie they’d ever seen.
If you were better explanation tell me.
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