Edmonton Oilers Coach Knoblauch Has Surprising Comment On Forward in His Doghouse

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Ryan Hall
December 1, 2024 (8:56 PM)

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Oilers forward Jeff Skinner has not had the season he'd had hoped early on as he has continued to struggle but during the Colorado Avalanche game, he received praise from his coach with his hard work and continued efforts.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke after the game and commented and praised Skinner's work on how he created one of their goals by doing his job.

»You look at that goal, the work that Jeff Skinner did to create that. Protect the puck, getting to the net those pucks don't go in unless the forwards are doing their job.» - Coach Knoblauch

Many Oilers fans were happy during the summer of 2024 when then interim general manager Jeff Jackson went on a spending spree and picked up Skinner along with forward Viktor Arvidsson to bolster their offense.

Since arriving in Edmonton, both players have been a disappointment for the organization as fans began to realize that Skinner's game has been in decline including Sid of Oilersnation.

»Skinner's early season struggles have caused several fans to question this signing in the first place. It is evident that even Edmonton's own coaches are not a huge fan of him, potentially due to his lackluster defensive game or ineffective forechecking.» - NHL Sid, Oilers Nation

Through 24 games played, he has scored four goals with four assists for eight points and is a - 9 with two penalty minutes. He has seen the lowest amount of ice time on average in his career as he currently stands at 13 minutes and 38 seconds.

It's safe to say that the coaching staff are working hard to try to find a way to make his game return and as Sid explained Skinner has one attribute of his game that many on the Oilers do not have which is the ability to finish around the net.

With last night's work, perhaps the coaching staff may change their ways and put him around the net and maybe he can get a few tip in goals to spark his offense.

The Oilers will finish their Western Road Swing where they will be heading to Las Vegas NV to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Game time will be 10:00 PM eastern on Tuesday December 3rd.