Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner defends the goal against the Los Angeles Kings. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Same Problems Continue to Plague Oilers in Playoffs

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jon Alfano | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Edmonton Oilers' first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings is going in a very different direction than their previous matchups, and not in a favorable one for them.

The Oilers, who defeated the Kings in the first round in each of the past three years, now find themselves down 0-2 as the series shifts to Edmonton. Needless to say, it's not the start they wanted to the postseason as they look to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.

While the series has been very different, Edmonton's problems remain the same: goaltending and defense.

Starting with the former, Stuart Skinner, who missed time near the end of the regular season due to injury, has been downright bad in this series. Through two games, the 26-year-old has a dreadful .810 save percentage and a 6.11 goals against average. Moneypuck.com data also shows that he's saved 4.7 goals fewer than expected, the worst of any goalie in the playoffs by a considerable margin.

Skinner hasn't played his best, but the defense in front of him has been bad as well. So many of the Kings' goals this series have come due to odd-man rushes, turnovers in the Oilers' own zone, or some other defensive miscues.

MAKE THAT 2 FOR THE JUICEMAN AND 6 FOR THE LA KINGS pic.twitter.com/iZndSkUJjM
— x - LA Kings (@LAKings) April 24, 2025

Edmonton has also allowed Los Angeles to convert on five of its 10 power player opportunities, whereas last year, it didn't allow a single power play goal in the five-game series. The Oilers' penalty kill was superb in last year's playoffs, finishing the postseason with a 94.3 percent success rate, but that strength has completely vanished in this series. It's clear they dearly miss top defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who's out for this series and possibly the rest of the playoffs due to injury.

Backup goaltender Calvin Pickard replaced Skinner in the third period of Game 2 on Wednesday, possibly indicating a change for Game 3 on Friday. Even if the Oilers do make the change, though, they have to be much, much better at stopping the Kings' attack if they want to have any chance of turning this series around.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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