Tough game for the Oilers last night. Vegas simply wasn’t the team they needed to be playing on the hind end of a back-to-back. Something else that the team didn’t need was for their coach to be playing Mikko Koskinen and they got burnt because of a silly decision on Hitchcock’s part.

The three-meter man can’t be fully absolved from that performance mind you. He did let in some questionable shots on his glove hand and 5-hole which has resulted in a mad witchhunt from Oilers fans and media alike.

This morning on Oilers Now, Bob Stauffer and Brenden Escott were discussing the big Finn’s performance and had this to say,

Escott: He’s got to sort that out (glove hand) if he’s going to be a bonafide starter in this league. 

Stauffer: That’s low-hanging fruit because it’s so easy to focus on. What I would say is this, Mikko Koskinen did not start back-to-backs over in the KHL. The moment the Oilers traded Cam Talbot, they partially did that to alleviate, not the tension, but the fact that we had two goalies here and both were UFAs. Koskinen got the extension but from that point forward Mikko’s had to have a couple of back-to-back starts. 

He was not very good at handling pucks and he was poor no angles early in the year and he’s worked a lot on that. But when he starts in back-to-back games Brenden, I think what happens is fatigue sets in and maybe he drops is glove even lower and the book’s out on him. And in this league, unlike the KHL, guys can score from anywhere because they can really shoot the pill and they can make that shot. They’re closer to the net, they’re not as boxed out. 

So what I would say is, 100% the criticism is fair and it played a factor last night. He wasn’t very good last night. Absolutely fair criticism against a good team. BUT what I would also say is he works really hard.

If he doesn’t get it straightened out, he’s only going to be a 1a/1b goaltender. He’s only going to be a 45-game-a-year guy and they’re going to have to get somebody else to be it. But if he works as hard on the glove going forward and gets more conditioned to, and I do think the Oilers have to create a situation where they got another goalie here that’s good enough to push him, it’s not just 70 starts and 15 starts. I think that’s completely unrealistic. 

I know how hard he works in practise and I see him out there every morning before everyone else.

If he doesn’t get it fixed, he’s only going to be an average starter. If he does get it fixed, he has a chance to be a legitimate top-20 no.1 goalie that gives you a chance to win every day. 

What I will point out is that Koskinen is one of the main reasons the Oilers are even competing in this playoff race and since Talbot has been traded, Mikko has taken the starter’s role and ran with it.

Folks might complain about his glove hand but let’s not forget about all the goals that used to go over Talbot’s shoulders let alone all the goals he let in on the first shot of the game or period…

Mikko Koskinen is NOT the problem.

https://twitter.com/ChartingHockey/status/1107265050312671233

I would add to this that the Oilers could not pass the puck if their lives depended on it last night. Darnell Nurse and Kris Russell were horrid with the puck movement. Their favorite teammate to pass to was the boards and the glass. I lost count at the number of times an Oiler defender rimmed it around the boards to a Vegas Golden Knight. Dave Staples made a funny comparison on his post-game vlog with Bruce McCurdy last night. He said that Nurse and Russell were Smid/Staios 2.0…

I do believe that the Oilers will re-vamp their defense this summer and two guys I wonder about being elsewhere in 2019/20 are Nurse and Russell.

The Oilers need puck moving defenders and scoring wingers. Full stop. Kris Russell and Andrej Sekera aren’t going to bring you a top-6 winger. The Oilers will most likely have to pay to have those players moved but Darnell Nurse will bring you that winger and with players like Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, Ethan Bear, Evan Bouchard, and Joel Persson looking to make the squad next season; I think it’s very fair to say Darnell Nurse’s position on the team could be under threat due to his inability to pass the puck.

What the naysayers will come back with is Nurse’s numbers this season and to that I’d say, he’s capitalized on the PP he’s been given by Hitchcock. His 5×5 numbers are on par with last season when his TOI was elevated due to Klefbom being out of the lineup. So what happens when you take that extra TOI and cherry time on the PP away… I would venture a bet that his offensive stats would decrease…

He’s not what those stats suggest. He’s a fine top-4 shut-down defender but he gets spread thin when he’s asked to take on a more offensive role too. A better skating Adam Larsson if you will. The fact that the league has been tamed down has nullified one of Nurse’s strongest attributes, his meanness.

After watching him for his whole career, I’m just not sure about the hockey IQ. He’s still young mind you and there’s lots of room to grow but even if you look at it from a financial point-of-view, do you think that he’s worth more than $5M per year? $6M that he’ll probably be asking for? I don’t and it’d be in the Oilers best interests to move him while his value is high and Edmonton has the prospect depth it does.

William Lagesson can do what Darnell Nurse does for a fraction of the price plus he’s been brought along the right way so the peaks and valleys will be smaller. In theory.

I do believe the Oilers will try to acquire Tyson Barrie this off-season due to the fact that the Avs will have Cale Makar and Connor Timmins competing for a spot on their blue line in 2019/2020.

So let’s say for shits and giggles, the Oilers find a way to open up cap space by dealing Russell and not take any money back in the deal. The difference between Barrie and Russell is $1.5M and I would have to guesstimate that in order to bring in a player like Tyson Barrie, Edmonton would need to move a package of players that would include a top prospect and a roster player or a high draft pick. That would also alleviate some cash from the Oilers payroll given the top prospect would probably be someone from this group:

• Jesse Puljujarvi
• Kailer Yamamoto
• Ethan Bear
• Ostap Safin
• Kirill Maksimov
• Ryan McLeod
• Dmitri Samorukov

Apart from Puljujarvi, I don’t think any of those players will be making an impact at the NHL level next season. Are the Oilers a better team if their defense looks likes this going into next season?

Klefbom/Larsson
Nurse/Barrie
Sekera/Jones
Persson

There’s a puck mover on every pairing here. Now you might argue that the first pairing lacks a true puck mover but I happen to believe that both Larsson and Klefbom are very smart players.

Edmonton could go all-in as well and use Larsson to bring in a skilled winger. I think there’s a very plausible reason that we heard Larsson’s name connected to Toronto at the trade deadline this year…

Don’t rule out Jared Spurgeon, Justin Faulk, or Rasmus Ristolainen either.

STAUFFER THROWS OUT TWO NAMES

Before his segment ended on this morning’s Oilers Now, Bob Stauffer threw out two more names that might interest Oilers fans. One I’ve already mentioned on the blog months ago.

You know Vegas had two guys last night playing down in the American Hockey League, Daniel Carr and Brooks Macek. Those guys would be playing for the Oilers and be better than some of the options Edmonton has. 

As I said, we’ve spoken about Carr before. He’s a local lad (from Sherwood Park) who I’d say looks like Brendan Gallagher-lite. He can skate at the NHL level, his edgework is good, he’s tenacious, he likes to shoot… There’s a lot to like with this player.

Brooks Macek I’m not as familiar with, but if Bob is throwing his name out there, that’s a good indication that the Oilers probably have some interest or have had interest in the player.

According to Eliteprospects.com, Macek is 26-years old and was a 6th round draft pick of the Red Wings in 2010. He’s 5’11” and 181lbs.

This season with Chicago, Macek has managed to post up 60pts (26g/34) in 63 games.

Interesting to note, after five years in the WHL with Tri-Cities and Calgary, he spent the next five years seasons playing in Germany where he scored 183pts in 255 games.

I think both could be had for under $1M per season and it would be prudent for the Oilers to start adding these sorts of players to their roster. I’m not of the belief that Cooper Marody or Joe Gambardella will be able to cut it at the NHL level unless they do something about their skating. They are great AHL players and would be VERY useful there but you in today’s NHL you have to be able to skate or else the Linus Omarks and Anton Landers of the world would be everyday NHLers.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.