Goaltender Stuart Skinner gets his first start of the season Tuesday night when the Edmonton Oilers host the Buffalo Sabres (630 CHED, Faceoff Show 5:30 p.m., game at 7 p.m.).
“I feel great. I’m really excited and just grateful I get another opportunity to play a game in the NHL,” said Skinner, who relieved Jack Campbell in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames. He stopped all 31 shots he faced.
“I thought there was a maturity and a mental toughness to Stuart,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft.
Skinner, 23, appeared in 13 NHL games last season, spending time on the Oilers roster while Mike Smith was injured. He spend the bulk of the year in the AHL with Bakersfield, going 22-7-5 with a .920 save percentage.
“It’s just different because of the situation that I’m in this year. I had a good summer. Just myself has changed from year-to-year. Besides that, nothing really else has changed. Just playing the same game, the same way that I play,” explained Skinner.
The Sabres have won seven of their last ten meetings between the two teams, though the Oilers scored a 6-1 triumph at Rogers Place in March.
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