Koskinen stealing the starting job?

[snag]

 

[Boom not bust]

He is so calm and confident, I think that has a positive effect on the team in general and they have an easier time playing for him.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Drivesaitl is not the biggest Koskinen fan.

How so? Basically the brunt of what I've said is more games are required to see what we got here. Seems odd you know all my opinions and you've been here for one month.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

I said Koskinen should get the start. Is there a point to your haranguing?

Oh, I see, wagons circling on a circle jerk.

You absolutely did not.

You posted that after it was announced Koskinen was starting.

 

[Drivesaitl]

You absolutely did not.

You posted that after it was announced Koskinen was starting.

I posted the reply to what was asked. That I would start Koskinen. lmao I answered the question 1.5hrs after it was asked yesterday.

Is there a point to your attack?

Let me know if YOU have an agenda.

 

[oobga]

He is so calm and confident, I think that has a positive effect on the team in general and they have an easier time playing for him.

His battle level has to inspire confidence. Guy does not quit on any play. That is unfortunately something that Talbot lost as his confidence has fallen. Not totally throwing the towel in on Talbot though, I would like to see if Hitch can help build him back up. Having a 1A 1B situation is a dream any team can benefit big time from.

 

[Cloned]

His battle level has to inspire confidence. Guy does not quit on any play. That is unfortunately something that Talbot lost as his confidence has fallen. Not totally throwing the towel in on Talbot though, I would like to see if Hitch can help build him back up. Having a 1A 1B situation is a dream any team can benefit big time from.

Moreso because having him rebound to even a .905 gives you a lot more options at trading him for good value.

 

[Drivesaitl]

His battle level has to inspire confidence. Guy does not quit on any play. That is unfortunately something that Talbot lost as his confidence has fallen. Not totally throwing the towel in on Talbot though, I would like to see if Hitch can help build him back up. Having a 1A 1B situation is a dream any team can benefit big time from.

Yeah, regardless is we need both. Being a starter on the Oilers is far too much of a workload for one goalie to be seeing 70 games. Needs to be more a 50-30 split or right down the middle. The Oilers give goalies a lot of work, generally, and started this game out that way. Koski was getting shelled early and that he heroically held the fort was huge. "Thus McD getting first goal for Oilers which was huge. I think that was deflating for vegas.

 

[The Batman]

His battle level has to inspire confidence. Guy does not quit on any play. That is unfortunately something that Talbot lost as his confidence has fallen. Not totally throwing the towel in on Talbot though, I would like to see if Hitch can help build him back up. Having a 1A 1B situation is a dream any team can benefit big time from.

That's another thing I like about Hitchcock. He is quick to complement just about everybody on the team. He's praised both goaltenders on several occasions already.

I'm impressed by Koskinen, but not convinced he's a starter just yet. It's still too early to tell. I can also picture Talbot rebounding, because he's had a heavy workload the last few seasons and a crappy defense in front of him. Especially with a more structured team under Hitchcock's guidance and another goaltender that can actually play.

 

[KCC]

He is so calm and confident, I think that has a positive effect on the team in general and they have an easier time playing for him.

For sure. You always hear players saying, "such and such is so good back there, we know he's going to make the saves". Basically saying they can actually play instead of squeezing their sticks or over committing lol

 

[TB12]

Drivesaitl is not the biggest Koskinen fan.

He’s also not as knowledgeable as he thinks he is.

 

[jaloviina]

Hello Edmonton! Fellow Finnish hockey fan here! When Koskinen signed with oilers I was amazed. because I already knew he is the best finnish goaltender next to Rinne and I heard he has said that he wont go to NHL if he doesnt get starters job. so maybe he has scouted teams and edmonton was the place where he could steal it as it now seems. all the best to you guys!

 

[tellermine]

How so? Basically the brunt of what I've said is more games are required to see what we got here. Seems odd you know all my opinions and you've been here for one month.

I have stalked quite a while.
Well I remember how you said Koskinen was to slow etc.
Am I correct?

Does not seem to be to bad though.

 

[tellermine]

Hello Edmonton! Fellow Finnish hockey fan here! When Koskinen signed with oilers I was amazed. because I already knew he is the best finnish goaltender next to Rinne and I heard he has said that he wont go to NHL if he doesnt get starters job. so maybe he has scouted teams and edmonton was the place where he could steal it as it now seems. all the best to you guys!

That might be the case.

 

[Porkleaker]

I fell asleep for the last 3 games, you're welcome. Waking up and seeing the Oilers have won is nice for a change, I'll keep going to bed early.

 

[Nalle]

Hello Edmonton! Fellow Finnish hockey fan here! When Koskinen signed with oilers I was amazed. because I already knew he is the best finnish goaltender next to Rinne and I heard he has said that he wont go to NHL if he doesnt get starters job. so maybe he has scouted teams and edmonton was the place where he could steal it as it now seems. all the best to you guys!

I personally wouldn't put him up there with Rinne (yet) but he certainly is sound goalie and has been impressive for many years but I totally get the skepticism since Oilers fans don't have the best experience with consistent goaltenders. His acrobatics can cause you to skip a beat here and there and opponents will lose spirit to fight by stolen goals but at this point I'm fairly sure that just his style and he knows what he is doing. By January we'll know if the Europe's best goaltender past 5 years can continue his work on NA ice (which he should). His mental game is made of steel and he ups his game during the playoffs.

The reason why he chose Oilers, as you said, must be starter position and I think he knows the team will be contender if he gets the role and makes the transition to smaller rink.

 

[GMofOilers]

As soon as we signed the guy I knew he was going to steal the job from Talbot. I have been calling to start Kosky more since the middle of Oct.

Talbot has been giving us poor back up goaltending stats for over a year.

Talbot sunk the season last year.

Now we are seeing what average or above average goaltending can do with this team.

I cant wait to see Koski really get in a grove here with more playing time. I think he gets even better.

 

[Beerfish]

Whoa mule whoa!!!......whoa mule!!!

We need to temper the Koskinen love just a wee bit. He's playing great and is on a roll. He has been far batter than Talbot but in the game day thread there was all this talk about extensions and such. If you recall when we had Anders Nillsson he also went on a roll like this not long after he came to us.

Hitchcock in the past seems to play the goalie who is playing well and if you are not you sit, which is fine with me. Being a back up may also help Talbot. I think the utter lack of competition over the last few years and a coach who has a #1 guy in his mind no matter what has helped lead to his poor play.

 

[Lovsan]

As soon as we signed the guy I knew he was going to steal the job from Talbot. I have been calling to start Kosky more since the middle of Oct.

Talbot has been giving us poor back up goaltending stats for over a year.

Talbot sunk the season last year.

Now we are seeing what average or above average goaltending can do with this team.

I cant wait to see Koski really get in a grove here with more playing time. I think he gets even better.

I been reading alot about Koskinen here and i was amazed how many people down talked him, too big salary, hes not gonna do well in NHL, he is backup goalie at best if even that...the smile on my face now while i write this and watch the vids of Koskinen... my face hurts lmao. He has been playin so f***in good, just keep playing him and forget Talbot!

 

[GMofOilers]

I been reading alot about Koskinen here and i was amazed how many people down talked him, too big salary, hes not gonna do well in NHL, he is backup goalie at best if even that...the smile on my face now while i write this and watch the vids of Koskinen... my face hurts lmao. He has been playin so ****in good, just keep playing him and forget Talbot!

A lot of posters just dont know much about goaltending.

I called a spade a spade with Talbot last year, and fans just couldnt handle the truth.

 

[McXLNC97]

Just looking over the stats, and see Talbot has lost 6 in a row. Last time the guy won a game was Oct 28. Imagine if we didn't have Koskinen.

 

[bucks_oil]

Or it could be a permanent decline like what happened with Price.

Is that like Luongo's "permanent" decline 6 years ago in Vancouver?

31 year old goaltenders do not go into "permanent" decline unless they are injured (which is true for Price) or have sustained confidence issues. And that's my point. You want to re-inforce the spiral, you send him down. You are 100% confident in Koskinen AND need the cap space, you trade him. Sending him down serves no purpose.

PS: Carey Price is 68 games into this "permanent" decline of yours. He finished 3rd in Vezina voting the year prior. (and you know... look at the team he's playing for)

 

[5 14 6 1]

I love hearing the sound of those posts when he's getting set on zone entry, let's me know he's ready.

 

[Aerchon]

Whoa mule whoa!!!......whoa mule!!!

We need to temper the Koskinen love just a wee bit. He's playing great and is on a roll. He has been far batter than Talbot but in the game day thread there was all this talk about extensions and such. If you recall when we had Anders Nillsson he also went on a roll like this not long after he came to us.

Hitchcock in the past seems to play the goalie who is playing well and if you are not you sit, which is fine with me. Being a back up may also help Talbot. I think the utter lack of competition over the last few years and a coach who has a #1 guy in his mind no matter what has helped lead to his poor play.

I agree with your last bit absolutely. Disagree with the first part just as strongly.

Koskinen was brought in and paid to potentially be our starter next year.

He has that potentially and is currently playing that way. At some point, soon, a decision will have to be made who we are moving forward with. I'm not sure how good the Goalie market is this off season but barring a miracle Talbot will not be getting another starting job period and picking up a legit starter is unlikely from UFA or trade.

 

[McFlyingV]

His only real weaknesses are he lets out a few bad rebounds and can sometimes have pucks sneak through because his massive frame makes for a few holes that you wouldn't see on a smaller goalie.

With that said he more than makes up for it. He covers a lot of net, especially on the ice with his long legs and superb flexibility. You'll rarely see him get beat on a back door pass unless they roof it. He's very good on breakaways and point blank shots from the slot. I think he can still continue to work on the weaknesses I spoke about, but man do I love how he battles and never quits on pucks. That is easily my favourite attribute in a goalie and he has it in spades.