Goaltending has been a hot topic around the league so far this season. This year’s overall league-wide save percentage is trending well below historical averages, as goalies on every team are struggling to make saves and keep scores low.
The Edmonton Oilers’ new tandem of Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner has not escaped this trend, at least yet. The duo has struggled to find consistency and rhythm but, how do they actually fare compared to goalies around the NHL?
We broke down how each Oilers goalie has performed at saving pucks from various danger levels: low, medium, and high. All data is taken at all situations from NaturalStatTrick.com.
Jack Campbell
Campbell was signed to a big contract with the hopes that he would be the starting goaltender for a Stanley Cup contending Edmonton Oilers team. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way on any account through the first quarter of the season. Campbell ranks 71st out of 75 goalies this season with a putrid .872 SV% at all situations so far.
Breaking it down further by danger level gives some additional context.
| SV% | HDSV% | MDSV% | LDSV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Value | .872 | .718 | .863 | .957 |
| League Rank | 71st | 74th | 60th | 50th |
At all three danger levels, Campbell is struggling. His save percentage at high-danger is second worst in the NHL, only ahead of Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen—who has played just five games this season.
It looks like Campbell’s low-danger save percentage is fairly good when you look at the value, but relative to the league, it’s still among the worst. Campbell is just not playing well right now and there isn’t a bright spot at least in this analysis. He’s a streaky goaltender so maybe all it will take is a game or two where he stops everything in his path. Otherwise, Campbell needs to dial in and make the saves from low-danger areas; at least that way the goals he lets in won’t be as deflating.
Stuart Skinner
Skinner has been a revelation in his tenure as an Oiler, but some of the shine has definitely worn off from his hot start to the season. He has legitimate NHL starting goalie potential, and it’s all about how he continues to develop from here on out.
With a very solid .914 save percentage so far, Skinner is clearly the best goalie the Oilers have right now.
| SV% | HDSV% | MDSV% | LDSV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Value | .914 | .860 | .880 | .968 |
| League Rank | 24th | 18th | 46th | 29th |
When you break it down further, there is a clear area that Skinner struggles with. From high-danger shots, Skinner is one of the best in the league, on par with elite goalie Ilya Sorokin. You really can’t ask for much more than that. From low-danger areas, he’s among the league’s best again, able to stop a very high rate of “easy shots,” unlike his teammate Campbell.
Medium-danger is where Skinner needs to focus his efforts. He ranks below average from this area, and this is really the only weak spot in his game right now. It’s tough to assess how he could improve here, but it’s encouraging that his struggles are isolated to one section.
The easiest answer here is for the Oilers to focus on limiting opposition chances from medium danger areas when Skinner is in net.
Skinner is the choice
Until Campbell can string together a couple games in a row where he plays lights out, I would ride Skinner as the true starting goalie. He is playing very well this season and with a few defensive adjustments from the team in front of him, Skinner has a good chance to stay among the NHL’s statistical leaders.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
