Stuart Skinner’s first game after being traded away from the Edmonton Oilers will come against the Edmonton Oilers.
The netminder whom the Oilers sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday along with defenceman Brett Kulak in exchange for goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin will start in goal Tuesday night for his new team as the two National Hockey League teams face off at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins activated Skinner and Kulak on Monday after delays due to immigration.
“We’re ripping off the band-aid right away, which is good,” Skinner told media after the morning skate ahead of the 5:30 p.m. MT game. “In thinking about it, I think I’d rather it be like this and just get it over with but also to enjoy it, too.
“I get to play my old teammates – me and Brett get to do it together – and I think it’s nothing but exciting.”
Jarry, who made his Oilers debut in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto, is slated to be in net for Edmonton as the 30-year-old returns to Pittsburgh for the first time since the trade. The former junior Edmonton Oil Kings standout has a 10-3-1 record this season between the Penguins and Oilers, with a .908 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average.
Skinner, 27, has an 11-8-4 record this season with a .891 save percentage and a 2.83 GAA.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said on Friday that the goalie exchange with the Penguins was “not so much a comment” on Skinner and his performance, rather an attempt to try “something different” to presumably push the team forward, although he said he was impressed by Jarry’s “track record.”
“If you look at Tristan’s track record, he’s been a very strong performer for a number of years,” Bowman told reporters. “Last season was the only time when he had a stretch where it wasn’t at the same level, so we wanted to see how he started the season off, and I think he’s been doing really well there in Pittsburgh. I think he’s a big part of the reason their team is off to such a great start.”
We’re ripping off the band-aid right away, which is good.
— Stuart Skinner, new Penguins goalie
The move is something both Skinner and Jarry said they understand as one of the ways management tries to stimulate their roster.
Skinner called it “a trade that needed to be done, and I think it’s good for both teams,” while Kulak said moves like Friday’s deals that also saw the Oilers acquire defenceman Spencer Statsney from the Nashville Predators for a draft pick “sometimes bring a different spark into the dressing room.”
“(It) changes the dynamic of the team a little bit, so I think it’s a case of looking for that,” Kulak said.
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