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.
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.
POLL | ||
JANVIER 11 | 158 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers Set to Healthy Scratch Former 40-Goal Scorer Do you think the Edmonton Oilers will trade Jeff Skinner? | ||
Yes | 98 | 62 % |
No | 60 | 38 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Seth Jarvis | 2 | - | 2 | |
Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Cody Glass | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Bryan Rust | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Matthew Grzelcyk | - | 2 | 2 | |
Jordan Martinook | - | 2 | 2 | |
Anthony Beauvillier | 1 | - | 1 | |
Jackson Blake | 1 | - | 1 | |
Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
Owen Power | 1 | - | 1 | |
Rickard Rakell | 1 | - | 1 | |
Shea Theodore | 1 | - | 1 | |
Michael Bunting | - | 1 | 1 | |
Bowen Byram | - | 1 | 1 | |
Pavel Dorofeyev | - | 1 | 1 | |
Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
Victor Olofsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
Dmitry Orlov | - | 1 | 1 | |
Alex Pietrangelo | - | 1 | 1 | |
Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 45 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 65 | |
Jets | 46 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 65 | |
Golden Knights | 44 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 61 | |
Oilers | 45 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 61 | |
Wild | 45 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 58 | |
Maple Leafs | 46 | 28 | 16 | 2 | 58 | |
Devils | 47 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 58 | |
Stars | 44 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 57 | |
Kings | 42 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 55 | |
Hurricanes | 45 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 55 | |
Conference | Cumulative |