Veteran Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner happy to snap 15-season playoff drought

Gemma Karstens-Smith · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 2:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Jeff Skinner has experienced a batch implicit 1,078 NHL games.

The vigor and excitement of a playoff game, though, person eluded him truthful far.

That volition alteration Monday erstwhile Skinner and the Edmonton Oilers instrumentality the crystal for Game 1 of their first-round bid against the Los Angeles Kings.

The accidental to spell connected a post-season tally is portion of what drew Skinner to Edmonton arsenic a escaped cause past summer.

"Obviously coming here, my archetypal twelvemonth here, and I knew that we person a beauteous bully team, we privation to effort and beryllium a portion of it," the seasoned guardant said Sunday.

"And, it's a bully feeling. You benignant of enactment toward it the full year. So we each worked unneurotic toward it, and present we effort and get rolling."

Drafted seventh wide by the Hurricanes successful 2010, Skinner spent the archetypal 8 seasons of his vocation arsenic portion of Carolina's rebuild.

WATCH | How to marque the astir of the Oilers playoffs run: 

Skinner was dealt to Buffalo successful 2019 and spent six years with a Sabres broadside that hasn't played a post-season crippled since 2011.

No 1 goes into the NHL play reasoning they're going to miss the playoffs — particularly 14 years successful a row, Skinner said.

"Every twelvemonth you benignant of consciousness similar coming into the year, similar each different team, you consciousness similar you've got a chance," helium said. "And you effort and enactment toward your extremity and you travel up abbreviated and you don't get to acquisition it. And then, obviously, conscionable support plugging away."

Never earlier has an NHL subordinate appeared successful 1,078 regular-season games and not a azygous playoff game.

The feat hasn't gone unnoticed by Skinner's teammates.

Oilers skipper Connor McDavid handed the 32-year-old guardant the team's player-of-the crippled grant — a wrestling loop — successful the locker country aft Edmonton clinched it's post-season berth. Video of the infinitesimal shows Skinner's wide grin and laughter arsenic his teammates applaud.

"That's a agelong time. That's a large vocation for most," McDavid told reporters.

"So the information that he's ne'er played successful a playoff crippled is unique. Obviously, excited for him to get that opportunity. We cognize however amusive it is. It's the champion hockey, it's truthful fun. So gladsome that he'll get that experience."

Skinner played 72 regular-season games for Edmonton, contributing 16 goals and 13 assists.

The totals were good disconnected the career-high 82 points helium registered with the Sabres successful 2022-23, but Skinner believes the 2nd fractional of his archetypal play with the Oilers was amended than the first.

"It's benignant of a day-by-day thing, and you effort and benignant of support improving possibly successful antithetic parts of the season," helium said.

"You spell done slumps. You spell done benignant of bully stretches wherever you effort and support that momentum going. I privation to effort and support building, support getting better, conscionable similar everyone else."

Oilers caput manager Kris Knoblauch besides thinks Skinner's play improved implicit the people of the campaign.

"I wouldn't accidental it was up and down. I would accidental it was down and conscionable continued to emergence up," Knoblauch said. "I deliberation he's doing well. And passim playoffs, I anticipation it continues to rise."

Skinner skated connected a enactment with Adam Henrique and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins connected Sunday arsenic the Oilers got successful 1 last signifier earlier the playoff run begins.

Everyone successful Edmonton's locker country is eagerly anticipating the post-season, Skinner said — himself included.

"I deliberation it's conscionable 1 of those things wherever everyone's excited. Obviously, I'm not the lone feline going retired being excited," helium said. "So I deliberation it'll beryllium amusive to get things going and amusive to bash it with this group."