The Edmonton Oilers’ offence wasn’t rolling Sunday night, but head coach Kris Knoblauch felt just fine knowing his goalie would get them to the finish line.
Stuart Skinner made 33 saves for his first post-season shutout as the Oilers ground out a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings and took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.
“I don’t think anyone ever questioned if he was going to make the next save,” Knoblauch said. “We’re very pleased to have him playing the way he did tonight.”
Evan Bouchard blasted a one-timer past Kings goalie David Rittich at 11:49 of the second period, and that was all the run support Edmonton had for Skinner.
The Kings smothered the Oilers’ high-flying offence and limited it to 13 shots, its lowest total in a playoff game since Connor McDavid entered the NHL in 2015.
It still wasn’t enough to tie the series.
“Frustrating, probably, disappointing is a really good word,” interim Kings head coach Jim Hiller said to describe the feeling in the locker room. “Disappointed it’s not 2-2.
“We didn’t get it done. Even though we had a pretty good crack at getting it done.”
Skinner turned away chances from Alex Laferriere and Mikey Anderson early in the third period to keep the Oilers ahead as the Kings made a push. He stood tall again midway through the frame, denying looks from Kevin Fiala and Trevor Moore below the faceoff dot.
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