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Skinner’s promotion to Oilers’ top-six pays dividends vs. Blackhawks
Jeff Skinner played Wednesday night with Leon Draisaitl not because he was supposed to be there all along, or he was a top-six guy being wasted among depth forwards. No. It was because Skinner earned the promotion.
The hot take on Jeff Skinner is that he’s producing now only because the coach finally woke up and put him on a top-six line with one of the Edmonton Oilers’ elite centremen.
But like most hot takes, there is copious context that goes missing around a free agent signing who has taken 50-some games to earn the role that was supposed to be his all along.
Skinner had a goal and an assist Wednesday as the Oilers swept a back-to-back through St. Louis and Chicago with their second overtime win in as many nights, this one a 4-3 victory over the feisty young Blackhawks.
Skinner, a $3 million free agent signing who has been healthy scratched in a handful of games this season, started this road trip on the fourth line with Noah Philp and Kasperi Kapanen. He went pointless versus the Blues, but made three outstanding defensive plays, stacking another responsible game on top of several others in recent weeks.
So, the next night in Chicago when the coach jumbled up the lines, Skinner got to play with Leon Draisaitl.
Not because he was supposed to be there all along, or he was a top-six guy being wasted among the depth forwards.
No. It was because Skinner had earned the promotion.
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“His details have been good,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch after the game, his team suddenly a full four points ahead of Vegas in the Pacific Division. “He’s been checking hard. He’s been getting in on the forecheck. He’s been in the right position defensively…”
You see, the Oilers have been through so many Jeff Skinners over the years. Usually they were younger. Guys like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz — players who never had legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations in Edmonton, and as such, never had to learn how to play a legitimate Stanley Cup-level defensive game.
They were offence-first players who had to learn that the game isn’t all about points and goals; that there’s a level of commitment to system, defensive play and checking that is required to play on a team that can win it all.
Heck, Connor McDavid and Draisaitl had to go through that process once upon a time, and it was pretty clear back in November that Skinner — the 1,000-game guy who has never played an NHL playoff game — wasn’t going to stick on either No. 97 or 29’s wing with the game he brought with him from Buffalo.
But give Skinner credit.
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It’s embarrassing when you come to a team as a top-six guy and you find yourself — just 16 games into the season — on the fourth line.
But Skinner didn’t mope. He went to work.
He won’t talk about it much (we’ve tried), but he drilled down on his game. For the first time in his life, we’re betting, Skinner went 22 games on less than 14 minutes of ice time.
It’s a tough transition, at 32 years old. Let’s face it: He signed in Edmonton to play next to McDavid, and within a month his centreman was Derek Ryan. Then Philp.
On Wednesday he showed his old 35-goal form when he took a Draisaitl feed early in the third period and niftily tucked home a backhand for the 2-1 goal. But let’s face it: He could always do that.
It was the 3-1 goal seven minutes later that truly impressed, when Skinner stripped a Blackhawk and poked it to Draisaitl for his league-leading 38th. It was that play that showed you how far Skinner’s game has come.
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“If he’s not in the right place defensively, they’re probably on a rush against and we have to defend,” Knoblauch said. “But he’s able to break that play up and create the scoring chance. He played a really good game, and I think he’s played really well for the last couple weeks.”
If Skinner can play a 200-foot game that is commensurate with a team that plans to be playing in June, having this five-time 30-goal scorer next to the current NHL scoring leader in Draisaitl can’t be a bad thing, can it?
“He’s easy guy to play with,” Skinner said of Draisaitl, who had a goal and an assist to take over the scoring lead from Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the first time this season. “He wins a lot of battles, makes a lot of great plays. I missed one there in the first I think he kind of set me up on the wide open net there…”
It was McDavid who dazzled in OT for the second straight night, this time setting up Zach Hyman for the door-step tap-in for Edmonton’s fifth straight victory at the United Center.
It should be noted that Calvin Pickard was excellent in goal, making 29 saves behind an Oilers team that tired as this one went on. He has now won 10 of his last 11 starts, allowing just 28 goals.
OIL SPILLS — Draisaitl now has an 18-game points streak against the Blackhawks, the longest streak against a single team that is currently active in the NHL … With two assists, Teuvo Teravainen now has 28 points (10-18-27) in 21 career games against the Oilers … Corey Perry played his 1,364th career game tonight, moving him past Jeremy Roenick for the 54th most games played in NHL history. Sitting on 439 career goals, he is just one back of Rick Tocchet for the 74th most goals.
