More revealing: Koskinen, who figures to garner lots of free-agent interest at the right price this summer (in the $2 million range), has 21 wins (21-9-3) on the year, two more than former Vezina trophy winners Connor Hellebuyck and Marc-Andre Fleury
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In Mikko we trust, or something like that.
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Edmonton Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen has lost only one game in regulation in his last 12 appearances, to Calgary a week ago. While he has taken tons of grief this season, mostly for giving up early goals, and he’s always been questioned about his glove hand, that storyline has quieted.
A glove save on Alex Ovechkin last Wednesday, who was in alone, was out of the Grant Fuhr flash-the-leather playbook. And Koskinen is giving his team quality starts.
Now, the book on him may never change: He is a quality No. 2 who falters if overworked like many goalies, but that’s fine. He has been hot for two months, and they have to keep riding him, like against the Detroit Red Wings here on Tuesday, maybe a game off Thursday against Buffalo, so Mike Smith gets a start, and another Koskinen game against New Jersey on Saturday afternoon before they go to Denver and wait out the March 21 trade deadline.
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“Mikko was playing well even before I arrived in Edmonton,” said Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, who has been behind the bench for 15 games. “He should feel very confident in his personal game now and I know the team is confident in him.”
Koskinen hasn’t given up more than three goals in any of his last 12 games, at least games that go 60 minutes. As Brian Swane of The Hockey Writers says, his longest such streak before this stretch was 10 games. He quietly passed Curtis Joseph for career Oilers wins (seventh overall), picking up No. 77 against Tampa Bay on Saturday, and Cujo played 24 more games for the Oilers (177-153). Next up: Dwayne Roloson at 78. Roloson played 193 games for the club.
More revealing: Koskinen, who figures to garner lots of free-agent interest at the right price this summer (in the $2 million range), has 21 wins (21-9-3) on the season, two more than former Vezina trophy winners Connor Hellebuyck and Marc-Andre Fleury. He has four more than John Gibson, six on Jonathan Quick, and eight ahead of Jordan Binnington. Koskinen’s save percentage is now .906, in the same ball park as the rest. Hellebuyck is .908, same as Fleury. Gibson and Quick are .907.
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Josh Archibald played only 6:26 over nine shifts against Tampa Bay on Saturday, in his first game in 10 months, but as usual with the winger, he was noticeable. He bolted into a melee by the benches to jump on Mikhail Sergachev. In hindsight, not the best move from a size disadvantage, but the 175-pound forward played hard.
“I used him to kill penalties and he had a prime scoring chance where he rang it off the post. He had good energy. Josh Archibald was in the game, you know that,” said Woodcroft.
ON THE CUSP
Ryan McLeod was a force against Tampa Bay, hitting the post twice behind Brian Elliott with quick shots and continually using his speed to get outside the Lightning defence.
“Ryan’s figured out that he belongs in this league, not just play in this league but be a good player in this league. That confidence has come from his preparation and work in practice, and some of the reps he’s had playing in the top six over the last three weeks,” said Woodcroft, who had him on left wing with Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto against Tampa Bay. “I’ve used him on the penalty kill and the power play and I feel very good doing so.”
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McLeod played three and a half minutes on the power play and 1:24 on the penalty kill against the Lightning, close to 19 minutes in all, with four shots on net.
THIS ’N’ THAT
With the freezing Heritage Classic game Sunday in Hamilton between the Maple Leafs and Buffalo, it’s no secret Edmonton is going to get one soon. Realistically, in 2023 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the frigid trailblazer outdoor game between the Habs and Oilers in 1993 at Commonwealth Stadium. Oilers-Flames? … The Oilers had 16 shots on their seven power plays against Tampa Bay. “That’s unheard of,” said Tampa coach Jon Cooper. “We did a good job on our penalty kill, but you can’t stop them all.” … McDavid wheeled around Victor Hedman for his goal like he was an ordinary defenceman, and not the best two-way blueliner in the game. He caught the great Hedman flat-footed, it appeared, but it’s not the first time he’s scorched a star D-man. He did it to Drew Doughty a few years ago, too. “I’m a pretty good player too and I feel I can take good players on,” said McDavid … Sergachev cheekily responded with a simple two-finger salute from the penalty box to the Oilers faithful jeering him after he fed the much smaller Archibald with a flurry of punches in the third-period scrum. A reminder of his two Stanley Cup rings. Sergachev, it bears repeating , was very much in the Oilers draft crosshairs in 2016 (along with Matthew Tkachuk) before Jesse Puljujarvi fell to them at No. 4 … Tampa Bay must have the largest back-end in the NHL. Hedman at 241 pounds, Erik Cernak at 230, Cal Foote at 227, Sergachev and Ryan McDonagh at 215, Jan Rutta at 204 and Zach Bogosian at 200. Nobody is under six-foot-one. At the all-star weekend, Hedman asked to have a photo with Paul Coffey, who was judging the skills contest. “It should have been the other way around,” said Coffey, who loves Hedman’s game. “You don’t realize how big he is (six-foot-six) until you’re standing beside him.” Coffey is six-foot-one … Tampa Bay winger Patrick Maroon had a run of scoring against his old Oilers club end at four games.
E-mail: jmatheson@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @jimmathesonnhl
OILERS NOTES: Koskinen quietly has more wins than Hellebuyck this season - Edmonton Sun
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