Oilers F Skinner to make playoff debut, set new record after 1,078 games
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After 15 years and 1,078 regular-season NHL games, Jeff Skinner will make his postseason debut on Monday night with the Edmonton Oilers.
Upon taking the ice, Skinner will set the new record for games played before a playoff debut, breaking the mark held by Ron Hainsey at 907. Hainsey won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his first-ever postseason in 2017.
The 32-year-old Skinner posted 16 goals and 29 points in 72 games this season, helping the Oilers get back to the playoffs after reaching the Stanley Cup Final last spring. He joined the Oilers in free agency on a one-year, $3 million contract after being bought out by the Buffalo Sabres.
“For me coming here, my first year here, I knew we had a pretty good team, and I was trying to be a part of it,” Skinner told NHL.com on Sunday. “It’s a good feeling. You kind of work towards it all year, and we worked together towards it and now we try to get rolling.”
Selected seventh overall in the 2010 draft, Skinner made his NHL debut with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2010-11 season, playing in all 82 games. Carolina missed the playoffs in all eight seasons Skinner was with the team and the Sabres failed to qualify in any of the six years Skinner played with them.
The Toronto native had five 30-goal seasons during his time with the two teams and posted a career-high 40 goals with the Sabres in 2018-19.
“It’s a long time. That’s a great career for most, so the fact he never played in a playoff game is unique, obviously,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “It’s exciting for him to get that opportunity. We know how much fun it is, we know it’s the best time of year. You hear that all the time, but it is the best hockey. It’s so fun. I’m glad that he’ll get that experience.”
Skinner appears set to make his playoff debut on Edmonton's third line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kasperi Kapanen.