The Tao of Stu: Inside the mind of Oilers goalie Skinner - ESPN

EDMONTON, Alberta — It took a while for Stuart Skinner to confront the anguish of losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

«Definitely. Internally, there was something buried. That's kind of an easy way to do it, instead of thinking about it and trying to process it. I stuffed it down,» Skinner recalled. «I normally open up the wound pretty quickly, but it took me a little while into the summer. It bit me in the butt halfway through.»

Now that he has tackled that pain, the experiences that devastated Skinner last season have put him in a position to potentially lift the Stanley Cup this season.

«I feel completely different. I think everybody in our room feels different. Because we've already done it,» he said before their Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Florida Panthers. «We've already gone through it. And to be honest, we've gone through the worst-case scenario: losing Game 7.»

Skinner, 26, is in his fifth NHL season, all of them with the Edmonton Oilers, who drafted him 78th overall in 2017. Before he was an Oilers goalie, he was an Oilers fan: The Edmonton native remembers sitting in the stands chanting «NUUUUUUUGE!» for forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, his favorite player growing up — and with whom he now shares a dressing room.

«It's pretty amazing. He was obviously my favorite player growing up and being able to play with him has been one of the coolest things,» Skinner said.

And so the Game 7 loss to the Panthers last season was crushing on several levels. The Oilers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to force a seventh game, only to lose 2-1 and with it the chance to raise the Stanley Cup. Captain Connor McDavid broke down crying in the dressing room after the game. Skinner's tears started before the