{"id":591443,"date":"2026-04-18T09:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/591443\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T09:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:13:09","slug":"penguins-weighing-goalie-decision-for-game-1-against-flyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/591443\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins weighing goalie decision for Game 1 against Flyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is different, though. Instead of Connor McDavid<\/a>, Skinner plays behind Sidney Crosby<\/a>. Instead of the Edmonton Oilers, he\u2019s with the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n

And instead of being the clear No. 1, Skinner is in a goalie battle with Arturs Silovs<\/a>\u00a0entering Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NBCSP, ESPN, SN, TVAS).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think no matter what way you go, you\u2019re going to have a good team,\u201d Skinner said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have a good goalie. You\u2019re going to have a good opportunity to win every single series. So, I think no matter what the lineup may look like, no matter who\u2019s starting between me and \u2018Arty,\u2019 you\u2019re going to get some guys that know how to win games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Dan Muse won\u2019t announce a starter before Saturday for Pittsburgh (41-25-16), the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division. Philadelphia (43-27-12) is the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of things that go into any lineup decision,\u201d Muse said. \u201cI think, you know, sometimes from team to team and year to year, different things come up. I think all information is good information. You kind of want to take it all in. That\u2019s how you make a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at all factors. As I\u2019ve said multiple times, I think both guys have been great for us. Both guys are a big part of why we\u2019re here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skinner was acquired Dec. 12 in the trade that sent goalie Tristan Jarry<\/a>\u00a0to the Oilers. He has played 27 games since, one more than Silovs\u2019 26 in that span. Skinner was 12-9-5 with a 2.99 goals-against average and .885 save percentage this season for Pittsburgh; Silovs was 19-12-8 with a 3.07 GAA and .888 save percentage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great,\u201d said Silovs, who is in his first full NHL season at age 25. \u201cI like him, as a guy, too. I think we\u2019re trying to be, like, two pillars, trying to hold the net as best as we can. We made the playoffs, so it\u2019s a new page and a new chapter to write.\u201d<\/p>\n

In most ways, the goalies seem hard to differentiate. Stanley Cup Playoff experience isn\u2019t one. Skinner played 38 playoff games the previous two seasons, including 12 in the Cup Final. Silovs has played 10 in his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the experience that I have gotten has been extremely valuable,\u201d Skinner said, \u201cbecause just going into the first round and going against Philly, there\u2019s just an understanding of how it works, the feelings that go into the playoffs, the emotional roller coaster. So, being able to go through it, get a lot of games in, obviously, high-end games, with the Finals being played and whatnot, with all that, I think I\u2019ve learned so much about myself and I\u2019ve learned a lot, just from my past experiences, what it really looks like, what it really feels like being in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Skinner knows, perhaps better than most, that it\u2019s not always pretty.<\/p>\n

He allowed 11 goals on 58 shots (.810 save percentage) in the first two games against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference First Round last season. Edmonton won the final four games with Calvin Pickard in net. Skinner didn\u2019t start again until Game 3 of the second round, making 20 saves in a 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n

McDavid and Leon Draisaitl<\/a>\u00a0helped those Oilers rebound. Crosby, Evgeni Malkin<\/a>, Erik Karlsson<\/a> and Kris Letang<\/a>\u00a0could be called upon for these Penguins.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels great being around these guys,\u201d Skinner said. \u201cI mean, outstanding, outstanding teammates. Obviously, these guys have been through it. They know how to get it done. They know how to get the job done. They\u2019ve been so supportive with me. They\u2019ve been amazing teammates to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m just very grateful and honored to be playing by their side this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skinner\u2019s presence could be just as valuable, even from the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good for Arty, obviously,\u201d Letang said. \u201cIt\u2019s good for our group. I think experience, you never have enough. I think it\u2019s going to be great to have him with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skinner is aware of what Silovs can do, too. Seven of Silovs\u2019 postseason starts came against Edmonton with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024; Skinner started five of those games for the Oilers opposite Silovs in the second-round series.<\/p>\n

After giving up eight goals on 49 shots in the first two games, Silovs made 42 saves in a 4-3 Game 3 win and allowed just two goals on 23 shots in Game 5, a 3-2 victory that gave Vancouver a 3-2 series lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, Arty came in and he kind of stole the show,\u201d Skinner said. \u201cHe had celebrities wearing his jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skinner then surrendered three combined goals in Games 6 and 7, and Edmonton advanced to the conference final.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a tough series,\u201d Silovs said. \u201cWe tried our best. Some bounces didn\u2019t go our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Silovs is locked in another postseason battle with Skinner, just in an entirely different venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity,\u201d Silovs said. \u201cIt\u2019s so much better. You know, like, now it\u2019s like the important part of the season starts. For sure, you want to win. … You\u2019re just excited to take this opportunity and take it to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is different, though. Instead of Connor McDavid, Skinner plays behind Sidney Crosby. Instead of the Edmonton Oilers,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":591444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-591443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}