LOS ANGELES — Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner is set to play the first playoff game of his 15-year NHL career.
Skinner owns the NHL record for most regular-season games played without a postseason appearance at 1,078. That’ll come to an end Monday in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings. He’s projected to play on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Trent Frederic, who missed all but one game after being acquired by the Oilers on March 4 because of an ankle injury.
“It’s nice,” Skinner said. “Every year, you feel coming into the year like every other team. You feel like you’ve got a chance and trying to work towards your goal, and you come up short and you don’t get to experience it. You just keep plugging away.
“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. 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.”
Skinner played the first eight seasons of his career with the Carolina Hurricanes, followed by six with the Buffalo Sabres. After being bought out by the Sabres in June 2024, Skinner was one of the Oilers’ key free agent signings last summer. The six-time 30-goal scorer was targeted to give Leon Draisaitl more established NHL wingers compared to what he had the previous season.
The first part of the season was a struggle. Skinner barely made it through training camp next to Draisaitl and was out of the top six entirely before the season-opening four-game homestand ended. Ice time dried up, and a tangible role was hard to come by.
Skinner was held out of the lineup on Dec. 29, the first of 10 healthy scratches. Despite that, his performance improved drastically from there.
The 32-year-old produced 2.04 points per 60 minutes over his last 37 games, from the new year onward, per Natural Stat Trick. That rate was third on the team behind McDavid and Draisaitl. The Oilers outscored opponents 21-10 at five-on-five with Skinner on the ice during that span.
Ten of his 16 goals came after that first healthy scratch. Knoblauch said Skinner’s rise was steady. It wasn’t easy.
“If you had a great season up in two halves, I probably feel better about my second half,” he said.
There’s been genuine delight around the Oilers seeing Skinner finally on the verge of making his playoff debut.
Captain Connor McDavid presented him with the wrestling belt, normally reserved for someone making an impactful offensive contribution during a game, after the Oilers clinched their sixth straight postseason berth on April 11.
“That’s a great career for most, so the fact he never played in a playoff game is unique,” 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.
“I’m glad that he’ll get that experience.”
The smile on Skinner’s face when he got the belt said it all.
“I was happy. We have a pretty tight group, and everyone is kind of aware of what’s going on,” Skinner said Sunday. “Obviously, it’s a bit of a storyline for me, but I think that day everyone was happy.”
Zach Hyman is especially thrilled to see Skinner get the chance. They were minor hockey teammates with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. Hyman is about to appear in his 86th postseason contest. He had 16 goals and 22 points in 25 games last spring alone.
“If you told us at 7 or 8 that we’d be playing together in the playoffs, it’d be pretty cool. I don’t think we would have believed you,” Hyman said. “He’s a great guy. He’s been through a lot in his career, been through a lot this year and found some success of late and is going to be someone who helps us in the playoffs.”
Jake Walman, who will be in the lineup Monday after missing the last five games with an injury, knows what Skinner is going through. Walman is 29 but has suited up in just one postseason game for the St. Louis Blues in 2021.
“This is what everybody wants, to play in the playoffs. This is what counts,” he said. “We’re happy for him. He’s got the chance now. He’s a great player, and he deserves it. He should have been in the playoffs way earlier.”
That might be true, but at least Skinner’s run is over now. He couldn’t be more pleased about that.
“I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it,” he said, laughing.
Skinner is set to play in his usual position of left wing. He’s slotted on the third line with Nugent-Hopkins at center. Frederic is expected to be the right winger.
Knoblauch called Frederic a game-time decision, but Frederic participated in an optional morning skate on Monday and was off the ice well ahead of Kasperi Kapanen, who was taking line rushes with Skinner and Nugent-Hopkins on Sunday.
The Oilers acquired Frederic from Boston before the trade deadline despite him having his existing injury. He played just 7:10 in his Oilers debut on April 5 because he suffered a setback. He was sidelined for the rest of the regular season.
Frederic sounded like someone who’s ready to return to action on Monday.
“I’m trying not to think about challenges,” he said. “Just go out, get my feet moving, play physical to start and get into the game right away. I know playoff hockey from my past experience. I feel like the first 10 minutes, 20 minutes is very fast. It’s different than the regular season. Everyone’s going to be playing at a high pace. It’s going to be physical. It’ll be pretty fun.”
In other news, Brett Kulak is expected to be in the lineup after flying to Canmore, Alta., for the birth of his second daughter. John Klingberg has been ruled out for Game 1. That means the sixth defense spot will come down to Josh Brown and Cam Dineen. Brown should play based on how the team was practicing in the lead-up to Game 1. Stuart Skinner enters the playoffs as the starting goalie for the third straight year.
(Photo: Neville E. Guard / Imagn Images)