Stuart Skinner knows the Edmonton Oilers let one slip away in Wednesday's Game 1 collapse against the Vancouver Canucks.
"We definitely gave them this one," the netminder said after the loss, per Sportsnet's Mark Spector.
Edmonton led 4-1 late in the middle frame and then surrendered four unanswered Vancouver goals, including three in the final ten minutes of the third period.
"When you get up, you can't just shut it down and hope that we're going to be able to stifle teams," Skinner said. "You know that Vancouver is going to bring it. There's definitely a lesson learned here for us: no matter what the score is, you've got to know that the other team is not going to just let you win."
Skinner had a strong opening round, going 4-1 with a .910 save percentage and a shutout against the Los Angeles Kings. He allowed five goals on 24 shots in the opener against the Canucks, but head coach Kris Knoblauch expects a bounce-back effort in the next matchup.
"Stu has won us so many games; he's played so spectacular through the year," he said. "There are going to be games that aren’t his 'A' game, and he'll be the first to admit today wasn’t his 'A' game."
Skinner rebounded from a subpar start to his regular season when Knoblauch took over behind the bench in Edmonton, going 34-11-4 from mid-November onward.
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday night at 10 p.m. ET.
