Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner, traded just 5 days ago, face off against former teams

PITTSBURGH (AP) — For the first time in NHL history, goalies that were involved in the same trade faced one another within seven days of the deal.

Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner, traded for one another just five days ago, starred against their former teams as Edmonton defeated Pittsburgh 6-4 on Tuesday night.

“I thought both goalies handled themselves well,” said Connor McDavid, who scored twice and had a four-point game. “It was a unique situation and probably a strange night for both guys.”

On Friday, the Oilers dealt Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. Both goaltenders were unable to have new masks ready in time for Tuesday’s game. Jarry wore blue goalie pads and his Penguins’ mask, while Skinner had white and gold pads and his old Oilers’ mask.

“We should’ve switched masks,” Skinner said. “I feel like the mask takes the longest because you have to get a paint job. It would’ve been funny if we saw each other in warm-ups at the red line and changed helmets.”

The Penguins honored Jarry during the first television timeout on Tuesday. Fans applauded as Jarry waved his stick to the crowd, tapped his chest and held his glove in the air. The home crowd also took to their new goaltender with deep chants of “Stu” after each save early in the game.

“I saw a couple signs out there and somebody had a picture of my face,” Skinner said. “It was a great welcome. I really appreciate it from the fans.”

The two-time Western Conference champions acquired Jarry from the Penguins in the hopes of shoring up a position that has cost them during their deep playoff runs in recent years. Jarry stopped 25 shots during his Oilers’ debut against Toronto on Saturday and he made 26 saves on Tuesday. Skinner stopped 17 shots in his Penguins’ debut Tuesday, after he and Kulak spent the weekend settling the immigration process.

“It’s odd, just the whole situation of how quickly we played them after the trade happened,” said Leon Draisaitl, who finished with four assists and reached 1,000 career points. “I’m sure there are lots of people who felt odd about it.”

Skinner, a 2017 third-round pick who has the fifth-most wins in Oilers’ history, helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons. Pittsburgh also has a deep prospect pool in goal, led by 21-year-old Sergei Murashov, in addition to 23-year-old Joel Blomqvist and 24-year-old Arturs Silovs, the backup to Skinner on Tuesday.

The Oilers’ problems in goal have played a role in keeping McDavid and Draisaitl and company from getting over the hump and winning the Stanley Cup, particularly in the last two seasons against Florida.

“Those guys were a big part of this group the last number of years,” McDavid said. “It’s strange to see him in the other net.”

Jarry, a two-time All-Star with Pittsburgh, starred for the Edmonton Oil Kings in junior hockey. He signed a five-year contract with Pittsburgh in 2023, but struggled so badly last season that the Penguins demoted him to their minor league affiliate. The 30-year-old Jarry bounced back under first-year Penguins’ coach Dan Muse, starting the season 9-3-1 with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

“I’m sure they’re both excited to get this out of the way,” McDavid said. “I’m happy we came in here and won the game for (Jarry). Now, we can look ahead.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) has a shot blocked by Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner (74) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry, right, celebrates with Connor McDavid, center, and Andrew Mangiapane (88) following an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner tosses a towel during a first period timeout in an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers, in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry acknowledges fans after a tribute to his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins during a first period timeout during an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For San Antonio, the NBA Cup final was an education. A painful education.

The Spurs let an 11-point third quarter lead slip away and then some on Tuesday night, falling to the New York Knicks 124-113 in the Cup championship game.

San Antonio led 92-81 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, when Victor Wembanyama — who played off the bench once again as he works his way back from a strained left calf — connected on a deep 3-pointer.

The score the rest of the way: Knicks 43, Spurs 21. San Antonio shot 6 for 23 over those final 14 minutes. It got outrebounded 25-8 — a staggering differential. The Knicks outscored the Spurs 18-4 in the paint over that stretch, too.

All one-sided numbers, and that's how the game got away.

“It’s do-or-die, I think, out there,” said Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, who led San Antonio with 21 points off the bench. "You’ve seen the level of intensity rise up for us, and them. Obviously, they came out with the win. But for us, it's not taking anything for granted; I think that's the biggest thing. When we all go out there, we all know that we've got to play 110% in order to win things like this.”

The Knicks wound up splitting about $5 million in additional bonus money, pushing their total to $530,933 per player for winning the Cup. The Spurs had to settle — such as it is — for $212,373 each.

"I'm assuming that we're feeling pretty frustrated because we lost the game," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "I’m also feeling after 25 games in, I believe, that we’ve shown some signs that we can be a pretty good team. And we’ve also shown that we have a lot of areas of improvement. And I think that’s where we’re living today and hopefully tomorrow. We can continue to get a little bit better and minimize some of the things that we need to improve on.”

The Spurs are 18-7; Tuesday's loss doesn't factor into the record for this season. They've had four of their key players — Wembanyama, Harper, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle — together for exactly two games, those being the Cup semifinal win over Oklahoma City on Saturday and the Cup final loss to the Knicks. The only teams in the Western Conference with better records than the Spurs right now are the Thunder and Denver.

There's a lot to like, even on a night that didn't go San Antonio's way.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) shoots against New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) during the first half of the NBA Cup championship basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) shoots against the New York Knicks during the first half of the NBA Cup championship basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) reacts after a dunk against the New York Knicks during the first half of the NBA Cup championship basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots the ball past New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the second half of an NBA Cup championship basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Kirby Lee/Pool Photo via AP)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, dunks the ball past New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek in the second half of an NBA Cup championship basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Kirby Lee/Pool Photo via AP)