The Penguins put Stuart Skinner to work in their 3-2 loss to the Flyers in Game 1.
His effectiveness wasn't one that would reflect well on a boxscore -- 20 shots, 17 saves. But within that, the Penguins conceded far too many breakaways and odd-man rushes, for which he had to bail them out.
"We gave them so many chances," Evgeni Malkin said. "He played really good."
Bryan Rust said that the loss "could have been a lot worse" if not for Skinner.
"He was huge," Rust told me. "We had poor puck management at the top of our offensive zone, and they're a team that thrives on that. We have to be more comfortable playing in a low-event game."
Dan Muse had given no indication after the morning skate whether he'd be sticking with the goalie rotation for the playoffs. Skinner didn't steal a win, but he didn't play himself out of the starter's net, either. He at least played well enough to earn the start in Game 2.
"I feel really good," Skinner said afterward. "I feel good about my game. I feel like the guys should be feeling really good about their game. I mean, every single period, we just kept on getting better. And if we continue to do that, we're going to put ourselves in a really good spot."
THE ASYLUM
'Could have been a lot worse' without Skinner
The Penguins put Stuart Skinner to work in their 3-2 loss to the Flyers in Game 1.
His effectiveness wasn't one that would reflect well on a boxscore -- 20 shots, 17 saves. But within that, the Penguins conceded far too many breakaways and odd-man rushes, for which he had to bail them out.
"We gave them so many chances," Evgeni Malkin said. "He played really good."
Bryan Rust said that the loss "could have been a lot worse" if not for Skinner.
"He was huge," Rust told me. "We had poor puck management at the top of our offensive zone, and they're a team that thrives on that. We have to be more comfortable playing in a low-event game."
Dan Muse had given no indication after the morning skate whether he'd be sticking with the goalie rotation for the playoffs. Skinner didn't steal a win, but he didn't play himself out of the starter's net, either. He at least played well enough to earn the start in Game 2.
"I feel really good," Skinner said afterward. "I feel good about my game. I feel like the guys should be feeling really good about their game. I mean, every single period, we just kept on getting better. And if we continue to do that, we're going to put ourselves in a really good spot."
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