Oilers: Mikko Koskinen’s Keys To Success, Profile, And Expectations

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen season with a chip on his shoulder and prove lots of people wrong.

People were hoping that the Edmonton Oilers would upgrade their goaltending from last year. Ken Holland was unable to make any changes and will have to run with Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen again this season

Stats From The Past:

Keys To Success:

1. Make The First Save- Anyone who has watched a Mikko Koskinen start in the last couple of years has seen the one shot, one goal problem Koskinen has had. Giving up a goal on the first shot takes the wind right out of your teams sails. You are instantly starting the game working from behind. If Koskinen can make the first save the team in front of him plays with more confidence and doesn’t have to worry if a save will get made.

2. Less Starts- A rested Koskinen is a good Koskinen. With him having to start all the games early in the condensed COVID season his play struggled. Once Mike Smith got healthy and Koskinen was able to get some breaks in-between his starts his play did improve. Some goalies play better the more they play, Koskinen is not that type. He needs the rest and the practice time to stay at his best.

3. Play With Confidence- This ties in with my first point. When Koskinen is playing with confidence he is a different goalie than when he isn’t. In the games when he made the first save last year you knew he was going to have a strong game. On the opposite side of things if he lets in the first shot, you knew it was going to be a nervous night as a fan.

Expectations:

I think Koskinen is going to have a strong year this season. With Mike Smith likely being named the starter, I don’t think Mikko will be starting much more than 30 games. With that workload he will be able to have enough rest and practice to make his game steady at a higher level. I think by the end of the season Oilers fans will be happy with Koskinen’s performance.