Finding success in Buffalo
Red-hot forward Jeff Skinner enjoying life with surging Sabres
Jeff Skinner was answering questions after practice earlier this week when it was mentioned long-suffering Buffalo Sabres fans would probably like to see the pending unrestricted free agent stick around beyond this season.
All he could do was smile. “I know, I’ve heard,” said the red-hot forward. “I’m having a lot of fun.”
And so is a hard-luck sports city craving a winner.
It was widely assumed that Buffalo, a team thought to be at least one season from legitimate playoff contention, would flip Skinner at the NHL trade deadline after acquiring him in a deal with Carolina in August.
But 25 games into the schedule, the Sabres sit 17-6-2, have won 10 straight games and were first in the overall standings ahead of Wednesday’s action.
Skinner, meanwhile, is tied for the league lead with 19 goals and is on pace to score 62 times this season.
“My team’s playing well, so individuals start to have success,” he said conservatively. “I’m thankful Buffalo gave me an opportunity to get a fresh start.”
That reset has come on Buffalo’s top line with captain Jack Eichel and veteran winger Jason Pominville.
Skinner scored 204 goals and
added 175 assists for 379 points in 579 games over eight seasons with Carolina - a tally that led to exactly to exactly zero playoff appearances. The Toronto native has those 19 goals (with five coming in his last four games) this season to go along with eight assists for 27 points, one back of Eichel’s team-leading 28 (five goals, 23 assists) and 10 ahead of Pominville’s 18 (nine goals, nine assists).
There were some parting shots vaulted Skinner’s way after he left Carolina, but the 26-year-old insists there are no hard feelings toward the club that picked him seventh overall at the 2010 draft.
Instead, he’s happy to fit in on a team that finished last in 2017-18 and has missed the playoffs seven straight springs, but is now on a 10-game winning streak for the first time since the Sabres claimed the Presidents’ Trophy with the NHL’S best regular-season record in 2006-07.
“You’re not going to have success unless all five guys on the ice are pulling the same rope,” said Skinner, who has a salary cap hit of US$5.75 million and will likely be due a hefty raise if Buffalo want to retain his services.
Nine of the 10 victories in the Sabres’ current run - the longest in the NHL since Columbus won 16 straight in 2016-17 - have been by one goal, with seven coming after 60 minutes, including Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime decision against San Jose that saw Skinner grab the winner.