Mike Smith expected to be out at least a week

Oilers goaltender, Mike Smith is expected to placed on the IR after suffering an injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. The transaction hasn’t been officially confirmed by the club but comes from TSN reporter Tom Gazzola in a tweet sent out on Wednesday afternoon.

Smith has been among the team’s best players in the early season. He helped the team get off to a quick 2-0-0 start after a couple of impressive outings against Vancouver and Calgary where he stopped 81 of the 85 shots sent his way.

Things did take a bit of a turn before he left Tuesday’s game. The Ducks were able to beat Smith four times on 14 shots. The injury seemingly occurred shortly after the fourth goal against when Oilers forward Devin Shore collided with Smith after trying to stop a Ducks chance on net.

Mikko Koskinen will act as the team’s de-facto starter while Smith recovers. The expectation is that Edmonton will call up Stuart Skinner from AHL’s Bakersfield to serve as the backup.

Skinner had a fantastic camp with the Oilers and has performed exceptionally for the Condors. In two games, Skinner has two wins and one shutout and sports a sparkling 0.946 save percentage. It is possible we see him in the Edmonton net as early as Thursday’s matchup against the Arizona Coyotes.

Expect these transactions to be officially announced by the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday morning.