Edmonton Oilers Set to Healthy Scratch Former 40-Goal Scorer
The Edmonton Oilers appear set to healthy-scratch the former 40-goal scorer Jeff Skinner in tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
With 13 active forwards on their roster, the Oilers have a surplus at that position, which has been forcing head coach Kris Knoblauch to make a rotation in the bottom six.
For the past month, Derek Ryan, Corey Perry, and Jeff Skinner were all healthy-scratched at some point, and it appears it'll be Skinner's turn tonight in the Oilers' game against the Blackhawks.
Veteran players know the drill. The last time he was scratched, Skinner made his feelings known, saying all he could do was work harder in response to his head coach calling him out.
You always want to play as a player? Yeah, I don't know.... It's... guys want to play. So, it is what it is."
While his frustration was palpable, he kept his head up and worked hard when he got back in the lineup.
As of late, he was performing well. Before the Oilers' tough 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week, Skinner registered a three-game point streak.
After 40 games, the 32-year-old forward has 15 points, including seven goals.
At this time of the year, with the trade deadline slowly approaching, many reports suggest that Skinner could end up being shipped to another team by the Oilers.
However, chances are that the surplus in forwards is what forced Knoblauch to remove Skinner from the lineup rather than a potential trade involving him.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Sam Reinhart | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Morgan Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| David Pastrnak | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Evan Rodrigues | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Oliver Wahlstrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Uvis Balinskis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sam Bennett | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Justin Brazeau | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Gustav Forsling | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trent Frederic | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mason Lohrei | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Anton Lundell | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Charlie McAvoy | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Matthew Tkachuk | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Beecher | - | - | - | |
| Tobias Bjornfot | - | - | - | |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | - | - | - | |
| Jesper Boqvist | - | - | - | |
| Brandon Carlo | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Golden Knights | 41 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 59 | |
Capitals | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 59 | |
Jets | 43 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 59 | |
Wild | 42 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 56 | |
Maple Leafs | 43 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 56 | |
Hurricanes | 43 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 54 | |
Devils | 44 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 54 | |
Kings | 39 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 53 | |
Stars | 40 | 26 | 13 | 1 | 53 | |
Oilers | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 53 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||