The Edmonton Oilers vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs at Rogers Place yesterday was, in Gen Z terms, absolute cinema! While the rink was expected to be filled with home fans, it saw quite a lot of Maple Leafs devotees who came to watch this Canadian NHL clash. Both of the teams were toe-to-toe each period, but the last period is where the controversy happened, as Leon Draisaitl’s vital equalizer that came in the final few minutes was considered an offside.

Indeed, it was shocking for not only the Oilers fans in the audience but also the players in the rink, who were trying their best to win the home game. Eventually, this particular decision gave the Maple Leafs an upper hand, and they secured the victory over the Oilers with a score of 4-3. The results were frustrating for Draisaitl for obvious reasons, but after the game, he pointed his fingers towards his team’s goaltender, owing to their poor performance. In addition, he shared his thoughts on the offside call.

So who was the Oilers’ goaltender for this match? It was Stuart Skinner. The 26-year-old has been a vital part of the team for a long time. However, many have questioned his recent form, prompting the Oilers’ coach to defend him after one of their latest matches. But what went wrong, this time that made someone like Leon Draisaitl so frustrated?

The Oilers vs. the Maple Leafs was no regular game. It was a match between the two Canadian NHL giants, and the rivalry goes way back to the golden era of the league. It was a high-stakes game at Rogers Place, and the Maple Leafs were able to secure three goals in the first period only with the help of William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and Bobby McMann. And in the second period, Oilers’ Evan Bouchard was able to secure a goal for his team, and the pressure was mounting on the home side going to the third period with a disadvantage of 1-3.

However, it became 1-4 right after Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner’s goal. But with the help of Zach Hyman and Corey Perry, the Oilers came closer to an equalizer in the final 10 minutes. After Draisaitl’s offside goal, frustration piled up for the team, which is something he highlighted in the post-game interview, stating, “I mean, at the end of the day, it is offside; that’s the rule, and, um, obviously, we have to live with that, but, you know, sometimes it’s obviously unfortunate that it’s, uh, centimeters.”

The Oilers forward isn’t denying the rules, but he understood the situation. When asked about Skinner’s performance, he gave his thoughts, stating, “Yeah, he was good. Um, again, I think that we controlled most of the play. Uh, obviously, the shots will tell you the same, and chances probably will as well, so, um, yeah, not a bad game, obviously. Um, it’s tough to, you know, go down three goals twice, um, so something to clean up.” He didn’t put all the blame on the goalie, but the statistics do the speaking.

Leon Draisaitl might be making a point

The Edmonton Oilers have two goaltenders that they rotate in between, Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. This time against the Toronto Maple Leafs, they put their faith in Skinner after his underwhelming performance against the Detroit Red Wings, which was the Oilers’ last match. Comparing Toronto’s goaltender with Edmonton’s, Skinner had an 86% save percentage while Joseph Woll had 94%.

Giving an extensive outlook on these percentages, Woll saved 45/48 shots on goal, compared to Skinner’s 24/28. Indeed, Leon Draisaitl did point out that the Oilers were playing really aggressively against the Maple Leafs, but Woll was just not letting the puck go into the net. Similarly, when comparing Skinner with Alex Lyon of the Red Wings, he made 32/34 shots (94%) as opposed to Lyon’s 45/47 shots (96%).

Every single game for the Oilers at this point of the season is important. And the team can’t risk such high-stakes matches where they might have a chance to secure a victory. The Stanley Cup playoff spot is something that they are looking forward to, and Skinner has a big responsibility heading into the remaining part of the NHL season.