He has a goal and an assist in the past two games and, beyond that, is playing a more determined and complete game, so coach Kris Knoblauch is giving him a bump.
It was a bit of a delicate stretch there that could have gone sideways in a hurry when Skinner, who signed in Edmonton expecting to be playing with either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, slid all the way down to the fourth line and even sat out a game as a healthy scratch.
He could have taken it badly and made a ruckus, turned his situation into an unpleasant distraction. Instead, he buried his head, accepted his spot and is doing his best to improve his game. The team-first mentality hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“He’s an absolute professional,” said Knoblauch, who had high expectations like everyone else when the Oilers signed Skinner to a one-year, $3-million contract in the summer.
The line didn’t quite mesh and the downward slide began. The minutes tapered off as Skinner bounced between the second and third lines, then between the third and fourth before finally settling at the bottom eight games ago.
But there has been a spark recently and his game is trending up.
“The most important thing for any player, whether you’re a goalie, defenceman or forward, and especially a goal scorer, is confidence,” Knoblauch said. “You’re starting to see him enjoying the game, smiling, having fun and feeling better with the puck.”
Skinner has never played a post-season game in his 1,044-game NHL career, so making a go of it in Edmonton, a team with a legitimate shot at a Stanley Cup, is the obvious play. If he can make this work, the payoff could be amazing.
“We’ve had some pretty solid games, we want to keep this thing rolling,” he said after the Seattle win, adding his recent production from the fourth line proves that it doesn’t matter where he’s slotted, he’s always going to have solid linemates.
“There’s a lot of depth and a lot of good players so wherever you’re playing there are going to be guys making plays. As a result I’ve had some good results the last couple of games.”
The Oilers are in a middle of what amounts to a 15-day trip.
They play eight games in eight different cities (including a one-night home stand in Edmonton sandwiched between road games) and will play in all four times zones before it’s done.
It started with Edmonton going west to Seattle, then flying across the continent to Boston, then stopping in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Then they fly from Chicago to Edmonton for one game, head back east the next day to Minnesota, then down to Denver for the second of a back-to-back set and finally northwest to Vancouver before heading home to Edmonton.
If a six-year-old with a pack of crayons drew up a schedule, it would look a lot like this one.
All they can do is bite the bullet and remember that rest is a weapon.
“The most important thing is players being able to get their sleep,” said Knoblauch, who had the team stay over in Seattle after Saturday’s win and then travel to Boston with no practice on Sunday.
“If we left after the game, we’re looking at getting in at 4 or 5 a.m., so we stayed in Seattle and left the next day. It was a long travel day, but it was nothing crazy. We got in at a decent hour, guys were here for dinner and had another opportunity for a good night’s sleep. I think we’re set up. We’ll see Tuesday.”
