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Edmonton Oilers Goaltender Stuart Skinner’s game today looks light years better than it did two weeks ago, when he got blown out on opening night, 6-0 to the Winnipeg Jets.

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Skinner, who was hung up after allowing five goals on 13 shots in a half-game to start the season, has a .915 save percentage and a 2:38 goals-against average in his last five games while the Oilers are heading to Detroit to kick off a three-game road trip. He’ll likely start there, with Calvin Pickard back-to-back Monday night in Columbus before finishing with the resurgent Predators in Nashville on Wednesday.

Skinner saw half as many shots as rookie Joel Blomqvist (27-50) in Friday’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh, but he stoned Erik Karlsson, Noel Acciari and Kris Letang and had to go through two power plays of the Penguins in the third period for his fifth career shutout.

It was only the second time in eight games that the Oilers didn’t give up a shortie, and they worked hard to make sure Skinner had a perfect night.

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“You saw their effort, even when there was 12, 15 seconds left, we were doing everything we could to keep them out of our zone,” Skinner said. “It gives you a lot of pride in the group. We want to do well on our PK. I know the guys were obviously fighting for me, but also for some wins.

The Oilers’ final penalty was Connor McDavid for hitting Jack St. Ivany, a small reward perhaps after the Penguins defenseman hit the Oilers captain hard along the boards earlier in the game.

Cam Talbot should get the start at Wings goaltender against the Oilers.

Hip, hip, hurray

The Bison King didn’t get much ice time (11 minutes) Friday for Pittsburgh, but Jesse Puljujarvi appears to have reestablished himself as an NHL regular after his double hip surgery and major rehabilitation.

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“Again, I’m stating the obvious, but the rehabilitation process he’s been through has been extensive in the last year. I give Jesse a lot of credit for his determination and resilience in overcoming very difficult circumstances. His speed is noticeably different from last season, he was good on the forecheck, he’s a different player for us,” said Pens coach Mike Sullivan, who had Puljujarvi on a line with Kevin Hayes and Noel Acciari Friday.

Wasting the fizz

An interesting anecdote in Mike Keenan’s new memoir, “Iron Mike, My Life Behind the Bench,” involves ex-Oiler Esa Tikkanen and Donald Trump in the Madison Square Garden locker room after the Rangers’ 1994 victory.

Trump somehow entered the winning celebration and Tikky, ever the prankster, gave Trump a champagne shower, destroying Trump’s styled hair.

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“Tik was doing an interview and Trump was trying to have a conversation with him, so he turned around and threw a bottle of champagne at his head,” said Keenan, who was in his office at the time but laughed when Tikkanen told the story. .

A rarely easy path for NHL goaltenders

The Penguins, who sent goalie Tristan Jarry, a former Oil Kings Memorial Cup winner in 2014, to Pittsburgh to work with their goaltending coach Jon Elkin, have now loaned their $5.38 million starting offer to their AHL farm team in Wilkes-Barre (conditioning) for the next two weeks.

Is a buyout planned this summer for Jarry, who has three years remaining after this season on his contract? They tried to trade him last summer with no takers.

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“This guy (Jarry) has been an important part of our organization for several years now. He gave us a lot of solid goalies, but his first starts weren’t his best. It is our responsibility to help players through the difficulties they inevitably face.

The players face challenges,” Sullivan said, before Blomqvist, in his fourth NHL start, was fantastic against the Oilers on Friday.

It’s time to look in the mirror Klim

Enigmatic former Oilers winger Klim Kostin, who was circling in St. Louis before enjoying a revival here for one season before chasing free agent money and heading to Detroit (two years for $2 million of AAV dollars), then was traded to San Jose, was on the bench the other night against Los Angeles.

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He played 5:19 against the Kings, and coach Ryan Warsofsky was disappointed with the 25-year-old’s work ethic.

Kostin has talent and can play a tough game, but not often enough.

“He just didn’t give us much and that’s why he didn’t play,” said Warsofsky, who didn’t play against Kostin eight minutes into the middle period.

This and that

• With so few right-handed D shots available at the trade deadline, we suspect the Oilers are casting a wider net, including top 4 left-handed defensive defensemen, and perhaps reshuffling their pairings. And yes, the Penguins UFA Marcus Pettersson28 years old, would be suitable here. Contract negotiations on an extension for him have been suspended. He’s likely in Dallas’ Esa Lindell’s $5.025 million AAV range on the open market next July. He offers, in the hockey parlance of the era, “length” as a defenseman at 6’3″. But he is slim at 177 pounds…
• Oilers designated winger Roby Jarventie in Bakersfield after Friday’s game. Jarventie, who came to the Oilers for Xavier Bourgaulthad a knee problem in camp and did not play any games. His $107,000 cap hit is now off the Oilers’ books…
• McDavid, with 10 points out of 1,000, was kept off the scoresheet Friday for the second time in eight games. He played two games (Caroline, Philly) with two points, and four others with just one point. A slow start for him, needless to say, just like last season when he scored nine points in his first nine games…
• There should be an interesting battle on special teams between the Oilers and Wings on Sunday. Detroit has the second worst PK and the Oilers are the worst…
• Wings’ Lucas Raymondfresh off his eight-year, $64.6 million contract, is a point-per-game player. He has 80 points in his last 90 games in the NHL…
• With Nick Bjugstad cleared to play (upper body injury) for Utah, former Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto found himself on waivers and was shut out on Saturday, after playing only three games for them in the first month. He was sent to the Tucson farm team in the AHL. A blow, but Yamamoto’s minor league salary is still $500,000 and, let’s not forget, the Red Wings are paying Yamamoto $533,000 this season as part of a buyout…
• Zach Hyman is still looking for his first goal, but not only did he have six shots against Blomqvist, but five others were missed attempts. He’s about to finally score…
• Nurse Darnell had one fight last season (Brenden Dillon) but had two in the first month, with Michael McCarron (Nashville) and Pettersson Friday night…
• Corey Perry His career is largely on the back nine, as he turns 40 in the spring, but one thing he continues to know how to do is get in front of the net. His sun-blocking screen on Blomqvist was the reason why Mattias Ekholm scored on this long PP shot against Pittsburgh…
• Former tanker D Cody Ceci averages nearly 22 minutes a night with the beleaguered Sharks. A tough job for Cody…
• Difficult start for former Oilers farm winger Raphaël Lavoie who has an assist and is a minus-6 for Henderson, Vegas’ AHL farm team…
• Jasper Weatherbywho was at Oilers camp during a tryout, signed with Pardubice in the Czech Republic.

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