Goalies are voodoo. A netminder can be a Vezina candidate one season then fall off the earth the next year, or alternate between a .850 and .950 SV% on any given month. A slight exaggeration? Sure. Regardless trying to make assumptions on how a goalie will play on any given night is one of the most inconsistent things to track in the NHL.
Right now Edmonton has two extremely good goaltenders that at different times of the season have been called the #1.
First we have Mike Smith.
Since arguably the beginning of January, Mike Smith has been Edmonton's starting goaltender, playing in 18 games since the beginning of January. Compare that to Koskinen who has appeared in 11 games over that period.
Smith has been given 36 starts compared to Koskinen's 33 so clearly Tippett has been comfortable running both goalies at any given time throughout the year. With it almost a certainly now that Edmonton is a playoff team, the question soon will be which of these netminders will start in the post-season?
While Koskinen has had three fewers starts than Smith, he has been the superior netminder at 5 on 5. He has faced more shots than Smith while allowing fewer goals. Most recently Koskinen has been on an absolute tear facing 107 shots in his last three starts while only allowing a total of 5 goals. His last two starts against Columbus and Dallas were games Edmonton won solely on his brilliant play.
Having two goalies who are both giving the team a chance to win is something that has been unheard in Oil Country for over a decade. Right now Tippett needs to continue to run the hot hand in Koskinen but should he falter there is a pretty strong second option in wait.
LINEUP
McDavid has reportedly been under the weather but Tippett does expect him to play tonight. That makes sense because Connor has not looked like himself for a couple weeks now. We aren't seeing him have the same breakaways or top end speed we are used to seeing out of him. Hopefully it's just an illness and not lingering effects from his injury.
It's weird to say this but Edmonton is getting the worse of the Golden Knights two goalies tonight in Marc Andre Fleury. With the signing of Robin Lehner the Golden Knights easily have the best 1-2 punch in net in the league.
---
3 KEYS TO VICTORY
1.) Play Like You Practice - It's interesting that Tippett noted himself after the Columbus game that he didn't like how his guys were practicing prior to the game and those same issues were on display against the Blue Jackets. Hopefully the Oilers had a high intensity practice before this game because with first in the Pacific on the line, you can bet the Knights will come out swinging.
2.) Guilty Consciences - You can bet every player on the Oilers roster was sheepishly congratulating Mikko Koskinen after stealing the team a win for the second time in a week. Koskinen as I mentioned was top notch against the Blue Jackets and his team couldn't hold on in front of him to give him the shutout, turning the puck over in the offensive zone leading to a 2 on 1 opportunity. With Mikko in net again the team needs to go out, score some goals and make life much easier for him.
3.) Jonesing - Caleb Jones continues to be a steady presence on the Oilers blueline and was rewarded with a goal in his last game. Kris Russell used to be the player to play on his opposite side but Jones is actually skilled in that role and can play the right side almost as strong as his natural left. Jones handled the extra minutes while Klefbom was out in a big way and now settled into a third pairing role he is certainly taking advantage of it. With Klefbom and Jones on the left side and potential prospects like Broberg and Samorukov in wait, the leftorium continues to be an area of depth for the Oilers.
---
FILM OF THE DAY
Playing against the Knights tonight please enjoy a scene from a knight movie in A Knights Tale... knight. While William shows mercy to his opponent in this scene I hope the Oilers do not follow suit in their game.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»