Talk about redemption. The 6’6” Finnish New York Islanders goaltender Mikko Koskinen, who had no business being in the NHL, let alone as a starting goaltender in back-to-back games, made the most of a bad situation on Thursday night by taking the Canadiens to a shootout, notching a 4-3 win and securing two points. After making a rather embarrassing NHL debut on Tuesday against the Maple Leafs – in which he gave up two goals on his first two shots and losing 5-2 – he saved some face in a 37-save effort.

Granted, Koskinen shouldn’t be playing with the Islanders at all, but after a series of bizarre events involving four other New York goalies in the last six weeks, Koskinen’s the only remaining goalie. First, Dwayne Roloson was traded and then the largely publicized Evgeni Nabokov situation happened. Rick DiPietro had an impromptu meeting with Brent Johnson’s fist last week, which fractured his face and will see him out 4-6 weeks, and finally before Tuesday’s game, Kevin Poulin injured his leg during practice, ending his season barely before it began.

That leaves Koskinen as the last man standing. This is not ideal for the Islanders, but realistically speaking, it’s not the worst thing that can happen. In an already-lost season, GM Garth Snow can see what he has in the 22-year-old (unless he wants to negotiate a contract with himself and re-don the goalie pads). In two games, Koskinen’s shown that there’s a lot of work needed. He’s often out of position and scrambles to redeem himself. In his eight goals allowed, a few have been weak and of the “wish-I-could-get-those-back” variety.

Koskinen should have the goaltender’s job for the bulk of the remainder of the season. Where the team goes from here is anybody’s guess. It may look like they’ve hit rock bottom, but Snow needs to stand firm and continue with his rebuilding plan. New York has a solid core of young prospects and more on the way as they’ll certainly get another high lottery pick in this year’s draft. There’s a decent chance that in a few more seasons the Islanders will be deep in the playoffs.