The Edmonton Oilers are now 2-2 as they head into the last game of a five-game road trip, and Mikko Koskinen is the main reason why.
Days after making 44 saves in a win over the Florida Panthers, the big Finn stopped all 39 shots the Philadelphia Flyers directed his way Tuesday night, as the Oilers blanked the Flyer 3-0 in the City of Brotherly Love.
“Mikko’s been playing very well for a long period of time,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game. “In the three games that I’ve seen him play here, he’s been excellent.”
The Oilers’ penalty kill came through in the first period, erasing a 51-second Flyers five-on-three. Late in the first, Leon Draisaitl wired in a long power-play shot for his 37th goal of the season, staking the Oilers to a 1-0 lead.
Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto scored the only goal of the second period. As players battled for the puck in the Flyers’ crease, Yamamoto drove to the net and poked in his 11th.
Things got a little frenetic in the end. The Flyers pulled goaltender Carter Hart for an extra attacker with 2:19 to go in the third. Right off the ensuing faceoff, Koskinen made a save on Cam Atkinson from point-blank range.
“I do think he (Mikko) inspires confidence in the team,” Woodcroft said.
The head coach wasn’t the only one impressed with Koskinen’s performance. The man currently tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews for the league lead in goals had some praise as well.
“We have all the trust in the world in both of those guys – (Mike) Smith and Koskinen,” Draisaitl said. “He’s been amazing for us.”
Oilers captain Connor McDavid put the game away with an empty-netter.
The Oilers (30-21-3) will wrap up their five-game road trip Thursday in Chicago. Listen to the game on 630 CHED, starting with the Faceoff Show at 4:30 p.m. and then the actual game at 6 p.m.
–With files from David Boles, 630 CHED
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