SUNRISE, Fla. — Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was pulled once again during the Stanley Cup Final, this time in Game 4, where the Oilers edged out the Florida Panthers in a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
Skinner gave up three goals on 17 shots in the first period and was replaced by backup Calvin Pickard at the start of the second. Just days earlier in Game 3, which the Oilers lost 6-1, Skinner was pulled in the third period after surrendering five goals on 23 shots.
Florida opened the scoring with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 11:40 of the first period. Matthew Tkachuk fired a shot past Skinner from the left circle after a face-off win by Aleksander Barkov. Edmonton had two players in the penalty box at the time: Evander Kane (high-sticking) and Darnell Nurse (tripping).
Tkachuk struck again on the power play at 16:56, scooping up the rebound from Sam Reinhart’s shot and beating Skinner near the right post. Then, with 42 seconds left in the first period, Anton Lundell made it 3-0, capitalizing on a turnover by Troy Stecher and a pass from behind the net by Carter Verhaeghe.
After taking over, Pickard held steady, stopping 22 of 23 shots. The only goal he allowed came with just 20 seconds left in regulation, when Reinhart tied the game 4-4. However, the Oilers bounced back in overtime, with Leon Draisaitl scoring the game-winner at 11:18, evening the series at 2-2.
Skinner entered the game with a 7-6 postseason record, a 2.84 goals-against average (GAA), and a .894 save percentage. Pickard, in contrast, had a perfect 6-0 record, a 2.87 GAA, and a .888 save percentage in eight playoff appearances, six of which were starts.
With the series now tied, Game 5 will be played Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 8 p.m. ET (CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).