Skinner is both the best and worst of these Edmonton Oilers playoffs

It’s been the best of times and the worst of times all at the same time in these playoffs for Stuart Skinner.

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The embattled Edmonton Oilers goaltender is the living embodiment of feast or famine since opening post-season play with back-to-back losses against the Los Angeles Kings, before sitting out his team’s postseason-high six-game win streak in favour of backup Calvin Pickard.

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He only returned to the crease because of an injury to his counterpart, promptly losing his third straight start of the playoffs before bouncing back with not one, but two shutout victories to close out the Vegas Golden Knights.

Things came crashing back down to earth in a loss to the Dallas Stars to open the Western Conference Final, but Skinner rocketed right back into the stratosphere with a 3-0 blanking of the Stars in Game 2 on Friday.

Three wins. Three shutouts.

Zero goals.

Of course, you can’t take the good without the bad.

Four losses.

Twenty goals against.

Move over Jekyll and Hyde, there is a new enigma taking over the spotlight here on hockey’s biggest stage.

Just when it looks like it can’t get any worse, Skinner turns around and brings out his best.

Of course, he probably gets way too much credit for the good times. He can’t come close to posting a clean sheet without everyone in front of him doing absolutely everything it takes to keep pucks out.

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But that also means he takes way too much of the blame when it all falls apart. (It could be argued the Oilers defensive unit has suffered from equally dual playoff personalities).

And a strong case study could easily be put together on the psychology behind how a team plays for a goalie who has just come in to replace the usual starter, and what that does to the idea of shifting blame. But that will have to wait for another thesis.

Right now, it’s Skinner’s name that appears atop the franchise record for most shutouts in a single post-season, tied with Curtis Joseph (1998).

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a roller-coaster. It’s every playoffs,” he told the TNT broadcast Friday after coming up with his second shutout on the heels of allowing five goals in these playoffs. “It’s every playoffs. No matter what happens, there’s a lot of highs, there’s a lot of lows. It doesn’t matter who you are or what team you are, you’re just going to face those challenges.

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“For us, as a team, it’s just trying to stay as even-keeled as possible.”

As in, don’t allow yourself to get too comfortable during the high points, or too bogged down in the lows.

“For me, it’s just rinse and repeat and just keep on going,” Skinner said of coming off a demoralizing 6-3 loss in Game 1, when the Stars scored three third-period power-play goals in a span of six minutes. “You can let in five and still give it your all.

“So, that’s kind of what our whole mindset was as a team. I thought we played well and sometimes the score doesn’t really tell you the whole picture. And we just went back out there and played the same way.”

If last year’s playoff run taught Skinner & Co. anything, it’s that it’s not over until it’s over. No matter how bad things are, they could always be worse. Even if you find yourself down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. All that means is you just have to fight back to force a Game 7.

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So, being behind 1-0 to the Stars barely registered to this crew.

“Going through that can really change you. It can change your mindset a lot,” Skinner said. “I think it really tells you that you’re never out, no matter what position you’re in. Until they actually don’t allow you to play anymore.

“So, it’s definitely an experience for me and the whole team that we really take with a lot of pride.”

And in the times when his mind wanders off track, which is all part of being human, Skinner knows he’s got an entire dressing room full of supporters — if not an entire city, when they actually get behind him, that is — to help pick him up and remind him they have his back.

“I could tell you so many people,” Skinner said. “It truly does take a community. It takes a city. It takes a lot of people to really help you persevere, go through different challenges and adversities. And mainly your teammates.

“The way the guys play in front of me day in and day out, no matter what situation we’re in, that’s all it is. So, I’m giving all the credit to the boys in there.”

And the blame? If that’s the price to get this team where it needs to go, then he’s content to continue shouldering that load all by himself.

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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