Tonight is another key Pacific Division matchup with the Edmonton Oilers taking on the LA Kings. The Oilers sit 2 points up on the Kings for 2nd in the division but LA has two games in hand. A regulation win tonight for the Oilers helps to widen the gap between two teams that once again seem destined for a first round matchup.

Like the game against the Penguins, the Oilers started the game against the Hawks flat and suffered for it, quickly going down 2-0 and 3-1 but were able to rally for a 4-3 victory. McDavid was once again held pointless but through the efforts of Podkolzin, Hyman, Henrique, and Perry, along with some good work by Arvidsson and Draisaitl, the Oilers were victorious.

Derek Ryan finished the game against the Hawks having played 8 minutes, the lowest among all Oilers forwards. Connor Brown played the second fewest minutes but played 11:07, over three minutes more than Ryan. Ryan finished the game with a single hit, winning 3 faceoffs and losing 4 faceoffs.

Tonight the Oilers will run the same lineup which makes me question what the heck Knoblauch is doing with Jeff Skinner.

A few points to note. Jeff Skinner is tied for the 4th most 5 on 5 goals on the Oilers with 7 goals. He has more 5 on 5 goals than RNH, Henrique, Podkolzin, Arvidsson, Brown, and Janmark despite averaging fewer minutes a game than any of those players.

Let's be clear, Jeff Skinner is not a good player defensively. I don't like to use +/- as an indicator but I find it can be helpful when compared to the rest of a team. Jeff Skinner has the worst +/- on the Oilers with a -10. Derek Ryan and Kasperi Kapanen are tied for the 2nd worst with a -5 so there is a large difference there.

Some other additional stats. Skinner has an xGF% of 47.36 and is one of two forwards (Janmark being the other) who has a negative shot differential, meaning the opposition outshoots the Oilers when they are on the ice; 231 shots for vs 242 shots against.

There are warts to Jeff Skinner's game but I do not believe sitting them in the press box for the likes of Derek Ryan, or playing them on a fourth line with the likes of Janmark or Perry is the way to get the most out of this player. Right now putting him in a position to succeed on the third line where he can also be sheltered feels like the best opportunity. I would have liked to see him get this game tonight against the Kings, particularly because that feels like the matchup Edmonton is going to need to prep for in the first round.

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I do wonder if Skinner will end up getting traded, but that may be difficult with his NMC which will effectively block the Oilers from trading him to a non playoff team. The good news however is that there are so many teams in the playoff mix right now, especially in the Eastern Conference. Skinner is he was willing could be traded to a playoff team that needs offense and scoring with perhaps a more traditional bottom six forward coming back to Edmonton. Something to certainly keep an eye on over the next couple months.

Thanks for reading

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