Heading into the 2019-20 season, the Edmonton Oilers chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs laid at the feet of two men. Ultimately, the play of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith would determine how things play out and through the team’s first 57 games that is exactly what has occurred.
Though neither one’s been spectacular, both have been good enough and in the end, that was what was going to be required to give this group a legitimate shot at playing games into mid-April. There are those who would argue one has been much better than the other that would be a bit of stretch.
The Oilers Unsexy Tandem
Anyone who’s watched the vast majority of the Oilers games this season and viewed the play of their netminders in an objective manner will tell you there hasn’t been a much to choose between the two. Koskinen has arguably been the better of the two but by the narrowest of margins, which speaks volumes.
To suggest either one has been above average would be a stretch and even the most traditional of goaltending counting stats suggest that is, in fact, the case. The numbers speak for themselves but at the end of a day on a team that employs the league’s two leading scorers and plays in one of its weakest divisions, all that was required was the Oilers goaltending to not be a complete and utter disaster.
To their credit, both men have stolen points in the standings and while they’ve coughed up a few along the way, it has been nowhere near as bad as some envisioned. Though the tandem of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl has given Edmonton a shot at banking wins on a nightly basis, with a roster as unbalanced as this one, having a goalie stand on his head from time to time was a necessity.
McDavid and Draisaitl Need Help
There have certainly been bright spots along the way, most notably the play of rookies Ethan Bear and Kailer Yamamoto, but don’t kid yourself. The Oilers have been carried all season long by their two best players and while some would have you believe that isn’t sustainable over the course of an entire 82-game campaign, if healthy, it is more than doable in today’s watered-down NHL.
Unfortunately, an apparent quad injury has forced McDavid out of the lineup for at very least a couple of weeks and could severely damage Edmonton’s chance down the stretch. In other words, now would be the perfect time for one or both of these netminders to go on a run and help carry the load until their captain returns.
As of this moment, Dave Tippett seems to think Smith is the guy with the hot-hand and has had him start the Oilers last three games. However, if the first two-thirds of the season has told us nothing else, it is that neither of these goalies can go long stretch carrying a heavy workload. Koskinen has never shown capable of doing it and mere weeks away from his 38th birthday, Smith is well past his best before date.
Tippett Needs to Tread Carefully
This has to continue to be a joint effort and Tippett will need to find that perfect mix in getting both goaltenders regular duty, while still turning to the guy he feels most comfortable going with against certain opponents. Not an easy task by any means and in a situation like this, the chance of both players going south at the same time is a real possibility.
Add the recent seven-game suspension the league handed Zack Kassian to the McDavid injury and the Oilers forward ranks are about as paper-thin as it gets. Now could Draisaitl will this team to some wins and/or loser points over the coming weeks? You bet but in order for Edmonton to stay comfortably in a playoff position during that time period, it’ll be up to Koskinen and Smith to ensure it happens.
Far from an ideal situation but this is the hand the Edmonton Oilers have been dealt and outside of a surprise trade from Ken Holland, which seems unlikely, it's sink or swim time. While we may have arrived here in a manner not exactly everyone saw coming, it’ll still about the goaltending and that was always going to be the deciding factor…no matter how it ultimately ends up playing out.
Be it tonight against the New York Islanders or in a couple of days from now when the Edmonton Oilers pay a visit to the New Jersey Devils, Mikko Koskinen will get a chance to start his first game of the 2019-20 campaign. No matter which one he winds up playing, it is apparent the towering guardian is going to have to hit the ground running in order to win over Dave Tippett’s trust and earn regular playing time.
It’s not every day that we see a team with two of the league’s top four scorers miss the playoffs but the Edmonton Oilers managed to accomplish just that in 2018-19 and by a rather comfortable margin. And yet, with as poorly constructed as their roster was, had the duo of Cam Talbot and Mikko Koskinen found a way to raise their level of play, we are likely talking about a playoff team.
So here we are. Roughly two weeks since the Edmonton Oilers bought out defenceman Andrej Sekera and the roster is no better. In fact, the argument could be made it has gone in the opposite direction. Though there is still plenty of time for general manager Ken Holland to do something prior to the start of the 2019-20 NHL season, one can’t help but wonder why the decision was made to create cap space and not use it.
With the current edition of the Edmonton Oilers firmly entrenched in the 2017 NHL Playoffs, I felt today would be the perfect time to take a look back at arguably the most important one game result in franchise history. The year was 1984 and the setting was the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final against the four-time defending champion New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
While the Edmonton Oilers organization might not say publicly, one has to think head coach Dallas Eakins will be on the hot seat in 2014-15. After leading this team to as disappointing a season that has been seen in this neck of the woods for some time, and that is saying something, the former Toronto Marlies bench boss surely could not survive another year of under achievement when it comes to the National Hockey League standings.
In the eyes of many Edmonton Oilers fans, yesterday’s decision to “transition” long time assistant coach Kelly Buchberger into a different role within the organization was long over due. After surviving five separate head coaching changes during his six year tenure in Edmonton, the clock finally struck midnight for the former Oilers captain and no one should have been surprised.
Prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, the Edmonton Oilers
organization decided to add former captain Kelly Buchberger to their NHL
staff as an assistant coach.
After working at his craft for the previous four seasons as an assistant
with the now defunct Edmonton Road Runners, an organizational
developmental coach and the head coach of the Springfield Falcons in
2007-08, the time had come for the fan favourite to get his chance in
“The Show”.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the day the Edmonton Oilers decided to trade Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. To this day, most refer to it as a sale as opposed to trade but in the end, the distinction really doesn't matter. Regardless of how or why, trading away the greatest player in the history of team sports, signalled the end of the line for one of the finest groups of players to have ever been assembled.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish was once again in the news on Saturday afternoon, announcing the club had decided to part ways with head coach Ralph Krueger. The rookie GM was all business during the mid-afternoon press conference but did sound a little uncomfortable in delivering the news...and who could really blame him.
To say the Calgary Flames were behind the eight ball heading into Game Three of the 1988 Smythe Division Final, was an understatement. After dropping the first two games of the series on home ice, they now were facing the near impossible task of having to take four of the next five against the Edmonton Oilers. To make matters worse, they would have to accomplish the feat by winning at least three of those games at Northlands Coliseum.
