Looking at Edmonton's record there is no doubt that there are problems up in Canada. They're a team that lacks scoring depth and defensive depth, now after making some questionable trades their depth may be worse now. Last season they faltered hard after making the playoffs the year before, for the 1st time in 11 seasons at that point, and now it looks like they'll be on the outside looking in for a 2nd straight year, failing to meet expectations. One key reason they team has been failing these last 2 seasons is goal tending.
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| Koskinen vs Talbot H2H Numbers. Via TSN.com as of 1/1/19 |
4 seasons ago Cam Talbot was brought in at the ripe age of 28 after serving as a very impressive back up to Henrik Lundqvist in New York. He was full of promise after compiling 33 Wins in 57 GP and 53 Starts. He also had incredibly impressive numbers posting a .931 SV% and an even 2.00 GAA, and 8 SO to boot. So he was expected to be the back bone of the Oilers for the next decade. Since arriving in Edmonton though he has had a rough go of it, but goalies always catch the blame, just like a QB in the NFL.
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| Talbot combined stats during time with the NYR. Via hockeyreference.com. |
The 1st 3 seasons in Edmonton have been like a roller coast though. Talbot, over the 3 seasons, went 94-80-16 with a .914 SV% and a 2.65 GAA. Not the best numbers, but well for a team that doesn't play much defense. But last season, the 3rd, he fell of the wagon hard. In 67 games he was 31-31-3 with a .908 SV% and a 3.02 GAA, numbers that are much worse than the league average and this season has not been any better. After 38 games so far he has only played started 20 of them, far off his normal pace, so clearly he is not trusted in net and splitting time. As for his numbers, well they're not good. In 20 games he has a 7-11-2 record with a .892 SV% and a 3.30 GAA...so in comes Mikko Koskinen.
Mikko Koskinen was a FA signing over the summer from Finland who previously only had 4 games of NHL experience and that was some time ago. But about 1/3 of a season is all it took for him to play a starting job for a struggling team. So far in his 18 starts this season he has gone 11-6-1 with a .918 SV% and a 2.52 GAA. Decent numbers but it seems the wheels may be falling off for him as well seeing as he has dropped his last 3 games in a row putting up a .848 SV% in those games with a 4.00 GAA in those games. But taking those out of the equation he has been pretty stellar going 11-3-1 with a .930 SV% and a 2.06 GAA...that's damn good and includes 3 SO.
This is going to lead to some interesting developments in the coming months for the Oilers. 1st off they're 4 pts out of a wild card spot in the playoffs with a few games in hand on a few teams. But they just made some defensive trades that many feel made them weaker on the blue line. Being a team that was already weak defensively as a whole, this doesn't bode well for their chances of making the playoffs. But there is also the fact that both of these goalies will be free agents after this season is up. Talbot is going to be 32 going into next season and will be coming off a 4.16 million dollar deal. Koskinen will be 31 next season and has a nice 2.5 million dollar deal right now. One way or another it seems he'll be due for a raise this summer. In Talbot's case the Jury is surely out, but I'm sure he'll have a team to play for next year. The question is...will that team be Edmonton?
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