Mikko Koskinen activated from COVID protocol, Stuart Skinner to the AHL

Mikko Koskinen is back, so Stuart Skinner is the odd goalie out.

Koskinen was activated from COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday and Skinner was loaned to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.

In Skinner’s last start, he stopped all 20 shots that the San Jose Sharks threw at him for the first shutout of his NHL career. All told, the 23-year-old has a .913 save percentage over the course of 13 games in 2021-22.

The Oilers will now operate with the familiar duo of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen.

After a rough series of outings following his return from injury, Smith has been quite good as of late. In his last two starts, he’s stopped 67 of 70 shots, earning wins for the first time since the beginning of the season.

Koskinen was also on a nice streak of his own before going into COVID-19 protocol. After an ugly performance against the Florida Panthers in January, Koskinen went 4-0-1 in five starts, stopping 149 of 162 shots. He has a .900 save percentage over 26 games this season.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Oilers do if one or both of their veteran goaltenders struggle and Skinner dominates in the AHL. While the Smith and Koskinen tandem has been effective in the past, both have been enigmatic this season, and there’s an argument to be made that Skinner is the best of the three.