Oilers’ Koskinen responds to Coach Tippett’s criticism

[ad_1]

Unsurprisingly, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen didn’t appreciate the sharp criticism he received from his coach following another disappointing outing in a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers. .

Koskinen retaliated with what hurts the most, the truth, providing a fairly straightforward justification as to why the losses and the team’s current losing streak don’t fall exclusively on his shoulders.

“It’s not nice to be thrown under the bus,” Koskinen told Finnish journalist Tommi Seppala after Edmonton coach Dave Tippett crushed him during the post-match press conference for his role in the defeat. “I have to be better but at the same time we have scored seven goals in my last six losses.

“I can’t score goals.”

Koskinen has undoubtedly been a problem for the Oilers this season and throughout his franchise career. Based on simple stats, he’s one of the league’s lowest performing handful of starters this season. His save percentage of .900 and -6.08 GSAA are ratings well below the league average and the kind of goalie that can take a toll on results.

For what it’s worth (and ignoring for a moment the irony of delivering the same kind of criticism he objected to), Koskinen is right: Edmonton’s declining returns on the ice from an offensive perspective. were just as, if not slightly more, damaging. over the past month and throughout its current 12-game sample, which contains just two wins. In that streak, the Oilers’ 2.39 goals per 60 minutes in all situations is the fourth-worst mark in the league, while their total save percentage is the fifth-worst mark in the NHL.

Just about all other metrics point to a positive regression ahead for the Oilers, who have stumbled into the second wildcard position despite a fiery start.

Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen has struggled this season. (Photo by Michelle Farsi / NHLI via Getty Images)

While that’s probably not Tippett’s reasoning, the Oilers coach tried his best on Wednesday to come back to the fiery comments he made, as if trying to preserve some semblance of unity and teamwork. Tippett told reporters two days later that his quotes aired on Koskinen – where he said the Edmonton goalie “wasn’t very good” and that his poor play on the first base was “a brutal mistake. – had been taken out of context.

The story continues

He apparently added that Koskinen “made some good saves” in the 4-1 loss.

Despite being on opposite ends of the spectrum, neither quote seems to be particularly appealing to Tippett, who may have the hottest coaching seat in the NHL right now. It seemed his frustration had taken hold after the Rangers loss and now he’s dishonest about his true feelings and intentions in response to the flashback.

Yo-yoing, Tippett’s last two media availabilities each suggest that he doesn’t have a particularly strong understanding of the play and the direction of the team.

And these days it seems like a trainer can rarely get these things back.

More from Yahoo Sports

[ad_2]