EDMONTON, AB - Mikko Koskinen is expected to get the nod in goal on Sunday when the Oilers travel to Winnipeg for a match versus the Jets.
"Mikko will play in Winnipeg tomorrow," Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan said on Saturday. "The plan right now is to give him a full game and let him adapt to the League, the pace and size of the arena."
McLellan - who predicts the Jets will ice a stronger lineup than they did against the Oilers on Thursday - is using the road game as a measuring stick for Koskinen as he continues to adjust to the North American style of hockey.
"That's a good evaluation tool for us," the Oilers coach said. "They play well at home and come hard. I'm sure they'll have offensive players in their lineup. He'll get an opportunity to perform against a pretty good group of players."
McLellan said putting his skaters into difficult circumstances on the ice is a valuable way of gauging their performance under pressure.
"The opposition will provide the opportunity for us to evaluate us in a number of different situations," he said. "We'll look at how we respond. Our plan is to go over there and win a game but also put our players in situations where we get to evaluate them under stress."
Koskinen stopped 16 of 19 shots in two periods of play against the Flames in Edmonton's 7-4 win on Monday.
BLOG: Koskinen expected to start against Jets
"Mikko will play in Winnipeg tomorrow. The plan right now is to give him a full game and let him adapt to the League, the pace and size of the arena," said Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan
