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Montreal Canadiens: Ranking The Canadian Division’s Goaltenders

By Ken MacMillan

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 12: Carey Price Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 12: Carey Price Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 05: Mikko Koskinen replaces Mike Smith (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 05: Mikko Koskinen replaces Mike Smith (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith

Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith splits the start in goal for the Edmonton Oilers last season and it wasn’t the most fantastic goaltending tandem in the league.

Goals against aren’t always to blame on the netminder, but the Oilers allowed over three goals per game last season. Koskinen was solid, but he is 32 years old and has only two NHL seasons under his belt. He played 55 games two years ago and looked worn out by the end of the season and had his ups and downs in 38 starts a year ago.

Smith started 39 games last season, finishing with a 2.95 GAA and a .902 SV%. The Oilers were so enthused about it that they exhausted all of their options before deciding to re-sign Smith for this season. The 38 year old will now try to dial the clock back once again after failing to do so in each of the past two seasons.

With the condensed schedule and lengthy road trips that are on the docket for the upcoming season, I think we will see the Oilers scrambling on many nights to figure out which of its two struggling goaltenders to put in goal.

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