Oilers dealing with Stanley Cup Final goalie debate. Panthers, 1 win from repeating, have Bobrovsky

When the Edmonton Oilers face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers, either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard will lead them on to the ice as their starting goaltender.

The defending champion Panthers have no such debate. Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky has started 63 consecutive playoff games going back to early in the playoffs in 2023, and he is a big reason they are on the cusp of winning a second consecutive title.

“He puts so much time into his focus and his ability and then the experience that he has, so there’s a calmness that comes with Sergei that’s spread throughout the team,” coach Paul Maurice said Sunday. “He’s the incredible, elite player that gets totally underappreciated: taken for granted, I guess, by us because he’s so consistent with his game.”

Bobrovsky has stopped 165 of the 181 shots on net during the final, allowing 16 goals with a save percentage of .912. Skinner and Pickard have combined to stop 141 of 163, allowing 22 with respective save percentages of .860 and .878.

Many of those goals scored by Florida and allowed by Edmonton had more to do with the skaters in front of whoever is in the crease, hence a rotating door at hockey's most important position in the final. Skinner started the first four, Pickard entered Game 4 and won in relief, then lost Game 5.

Skinner will probably get the nod in Game 6, but coach Kris Knoblauch is not saying which way he's leaning.

“It’s not an easy decision,” Knoblauch said. “We’ve got two goalies that have shown that they can play extremely well, win hockey games and we feel that no matter who we choose, they can win the game."

That confidence is even stronger around the Panthers, given how steady Bobrovsky has been. Even though Game 5 turned into a rout, Maurice credited the goalie known as “Bob” for a handful of important early saves to make it possible.

It is something Bobrovsky has done all series, all playoffs and all season for a long time.

“He keeps us in the game so many times at key moments and is making huge saves," top defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "He always gives us a chance to win every night. He’s been amazing for us.”

Bobrovsky at 36 is adored by teammates. Aaron Ekblad, who has played with him for six seasons, called him simply the best.

“We love him,” Ekblad said. “There's no doubt about it.”

That admiration has been earned. Bobrovsky has developed a reputation for his tireless work on dry land and the practice habits on the ice that have translated into results: a lot of winning.

It's no coincidence the Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Bobrovsky took over for Alex Lyon three games into the first round in 2023.

“He just sticks kind of to the same routine, and his preparation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen while being in this league,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “It almost becomes routine some of the incredible saves he makes.”

There is nothing routine about how the Oilers' goaltending has developed over the course of the final. Skinner and Pickard have each been hung out to dry by turnovers, mistakes and missed coverages.

They have also made some unexpected stops along the way to keep this series going.

“They’ve both been amazing," veteran winger Corey Perry said. "It doesn’t matter who’s in the net or who’s back there. We have trust in both of them.”

Maurice, who has coached more games in the NHL than anyone but nine-time Stanley Cup champion Scotty Bowman, has made it clear he knows nothing about goaltending and has no interest in learning about it. But he has defended all the goaltenders in this final between “two really powerful offensive teams” with plenty of star power.

Still, Bobrovsky has the ability to swing it in Florida's direction with another of the performances his team has come to expect from him.

"His ability to focus is trained — maybe it’s a talent," Maurice said. “If one gets by him that he doesn’t like, it has nothing to do with what’s going to happen next.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky looks on during a stoppage in play during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, in Edmonton, on Friday, June 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard (30) takes a break during the second period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner makes a save against the Florida Panthers during the first period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) stands on the ice before the start of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final against the Edmonton Oilers Monday, June 9, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)