On Tuesday, June 18, the Florida Panthers raised their second consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers for a second straight year. It has been more than 35 years since Edmonton won the Stanley Cup. Questions now surround the Oilers.
While Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was shattered at this loss, it hasn’t been any easier for his players. Until Game Four, both teams looked pretty equal. The way, though, that Florida took Edmonton apart in the last two games revealed a stark difference.
Perhaps no one was more disappointed about Edmonton’s loss than Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner. While he looked solid against the Dallas Stars, Skinner looked off in the Stanley Cup Final. He’s sharing his own thoughts about that now.
Stuart Skinner Comes Clean on How He Feels About Panthers’ Goalie
Right after Game 6, Skinner appeared before reporters for his post-game interview. When asked by a reporter if he tries to learn from Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, Skinner responded.
“I sure hope so,” Skinner said in a video released by the Oilers. “I mean, it’s my third year in the league. He’s (Bobrovsky) 36, obviously been playing for 14 years. You can tell because nothing changes for him.” Bobrovsky recorded 47 saves out of 50 shots in Games 5 and 6.
“You can tell mentally that he’s in the same spot whether he lets in six or he gets a shutout,” Skinner said. “You know, I couldn’t tell a difference from game one to the last two minutes when he knew that he won the Stanley Cup.”
Skinner said he’d like to chat with Bobrovsky and ask him how he managed to maintain his steady style of play between the pipes.
“He didn’t change for one second,” Skinner said. “I would love to get in touch with him and ask him how I could fill his shoes and how I could do that.” Skinner does not appear to have any hard feelings after losing in two straight Finals.
Skinner hopes that one day he can match up with Bobrovsky. “Definitely hoping that that’s my trajectory – but you know, that’s going to have to come from me, my hard work,” he said.
Bobrovsky, who is on a seven-year $70 million deal, will be starting his last season with the Panthers. Knowing that he has made them two-time champions, there is a high chance that Florida might want to extend his contract even though he will be 38 by the end of it.
