Edmonton Oilers recap and notes

Pickard turned aside seven of the eight shots he faced Monday after replacing Stuart Skinner early in the third period of the Oilers‘ 6-1 loss to the Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The game was well out of hand by the time Pickard was brought off the bench, and the one puck to get past him came with Edmonton shorthanded once again — the third Panthers’ power-play tally of the night. Skinner is wilting in the spotlight, posting an .866 save percentage through the first three games of the series, so head coach Kris Knoblauch may have a difficult choice to make when he names his starter for Game 4 on Thursday.

Skinner stopped 18 of 23 shots Monday before being replaced by Calvin Pickard early in the third period of the Oilers‘ 6-1 loss to the Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The netminder got caught out of his crease trying to find a loose puck in a scrum, leading to a Brad Marchand tally just 56 seconds into the first period. While Skinner wasn’t at fault for any of the remaining goals he allowed — two of which came on power plays, and one on a two-on-nothing breakaway finished off by Sam Bennett — the early miscue set the tone for the night. Skinner has coughed up five goals in back-to-back starts and 13 total on 97 shots (.866 save percentage) through the first three games of the series. Head coach Kris Knoblauch may have a tough choice to make when he names his starter for Game 4 on Thursday.

Skinner will start in the road net for Monday’s Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Panthers, Bob Stauffer of the Oilers Radio Network reports.

Skinner returns to the crease for his 11th consecutive start after what was a tough outing for the backstop in Game 2, allowing five goals for the first time in six starts. Since claiming the starting role back, the 26-year-old has rebounded from losses extremely well, posting shutouts in both his starts following defeats. He has combined to save 48 shots in those two contests, but he might have more of a workload to deal with against a Panthers team that averages just over 28 shots on goal per game.

Nugent-Hopkins (undisclosed) is slated to be available for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Panthers on Monday, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Nugent-Hopkins was deemed a game-time call after missing practice Sunday, but he’ll slot in on the top line after going through pregame line rushes. Jeff Skinner, who was expected to play if Nugent-Hopkins was unavailable, will remain a healthy scratch for Game 3. The 32-year-old Nugent-Hopkins has amassed five goals and 18 points while managing 3:27 of power-play ice time per game through 18 postseason appearances in 2025.