October 21, 2021 by Eric Friesen

The Edmonton Oilers placed Mike Smith on injured reverse and recalled Stuart Skinner from the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL on Wednesday.

Smith suffered a lower-body injury during the second period of Tuesday night’s 6-5 win over the Anaheim Ducks when teammate Devin Shore fell on his left leg. Per TSN’s Tom Gazzola, Smith could miss at least a week of action.

Smith left the game after allowing four goals on just 15 shots. Despite a tough outing against the Ducks, Smith stopped 81 of 85 pucks sent his way in his first two starts this season. The 39-year-old goalie has a 2-0-0 record with a 3.08 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in three appearances.

Smith, who finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting in 2020-21, won’t be easy to replace for the surging Oilers. Mikko Koskinen made 20 saves in relief of the injured Smith to register the victory in his season debut. While Koskinen is is expected to carry the load in net in Smith’s absence, Skinner needs to make the most of his opportunity with the big club if he gets into a game.

Koskinen will start for the Oilers against the Arizona Coyotes tonight. But with back-to-back road games on the schedule this week, there’s a chance Skinner could be between the pipes when the Oilers face the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

Selected 78th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, Skinner played in one NHL game last season, making 33 saves in an 8-5 win over the Ottawa Senators on January 31. The Edmonton product posted a 20-9-1 record with a 2.38 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and two shutouts in 31 games with the Condors in 2020-21, and helped them capture the Pacific Division title.

Skinner began the 2021-22 AHL season with two wins in as many nights, including a 34-save shutout in a 1-0 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday. The 22-year-old has taken a significant step forward in his development over the past 10 months and looks close to being NHL ready.

This is the final year of waiver exemption for Skinner, meaning he needs to become the Oilers’ backup goalie in 2022-23, or they risk another organization claiming him. I expect Skinner will earn a spot on the team based on merit next season, but his $750,000 cap hit makes him an even more attractive option for a team near the cap ceiling.

While Skinner was recalled to backup Koskinen this week, he should be focused on stealing his job and sticking with the big club.