Earlier this morning, it was announced that Stuart Skinner would not be travelling with the Edmonton Oilers to Seattle for their game against the Kraken this evening. With 13:26 remaining in the third period of the game against the Dallas Stars, Mikko Rantanen appeared to skate behind the Oilers’ net for a loose puck and, in the process, accidentally caught Skinner in the head with his left knee. Skinner was high in his crease after making an attempt to block a shot, and that’s when Rantanen skated just above the top of the crease to head behind the net for the puck, catching Skinner in the process.
Stuart Skinner leaves the game after taking an accidental knee to the head from Mikko Rantanen. pic.twitter.com/8buBncBqhJ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 27, 2025
I know there are quite a few Oilers fans and Corey Perry included, that aren’t too happy with the play of Rantanen there, but I’ll at least cut him some slack considering that it wasn’t intentional and was just an unfortunate event during the process of a play.
Edmonton Oilers recall Rodrigue
Rodrigue is expected to join the Oilers tonight in Seattle in place of Skinner’s unfortunate exit. With the status of the Oilers’ cap, Derek Ryan was sent to the Condors on a loan, with Rodrigue being called up on an emergency basis. We currently don’t know the extent of Skinner’s injury, but because it involved his head, he may miss more than one game.
We haven’t heard any new news or updates in regards to Skinner, but this means that the Oilers will have to ride with the tandem of Calvin Pickard and Olivier Rodrigue for a few games.
Will Rodrigue make his NHL debut?
Rodrigue has played his previous five seasons in the AHL for the Bakersfield Condors. With 130 total games played, Rodrigue has a record of 61–51–17 and two career shutouts. He has allowed 363 goals in that span, for a GAA of 2.89 and a .906 SV%. Looking ahead at this year’s stat line, Rodrigue has played 40 games with a SV% of .899 and a GAA of 3.05. His record is 18–15–8 in those games.
With his stats being a bit rough around the edges so far this season, it’s hard to say if Rodrigue will see any games or make his NHL debut. We’ll have to wait and see how long Skinner will be out for, and then we should know for sure if both goalies will get some starts.
With the playoffs coming up so soon, let’s just hope that Skinner is okay, and that it won’t be anything too severe or long term.
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