Buffalo Sabres can help Jeff Skinner break playoff streak in 2024
Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner has played in 932 career games since his rookie season in 2010-11, yet he has never seen a playoff appearance.
If the Buffalo Sabres miss the playoffs in 2024, Jeff Skinner could potentially go 1,000 regular games without seeing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winger was initially a member of the Carolina Hurricanes between 2010-11 and 2017-18, yet the ‘Canes didn’t see a playoff berth until 2018-19, the year after Skinner left for the Queen City.
Despite the streak of futility, Skinner has often been regarded as one of the NHL’s better players when Ralph Krueger isn’t in charge. The past two seasons are prime examples, as Skinner played in 159 games and scored 145 points in those contests, including 68 goals, and 77 assists.
Skinner has also solidified himself as a member of the Sabres first line and, despite the fact he will be 31 and entering his 14th NHL season in 2023-24, you’d think he’s still in his mid-20s given the way he plays, so he fits the mantra rather well for this young hockey team. Unfortunately, however, time ultimately never loses, and though it seems like a rather bizarre thought, Skinner is on the “back nine” of his career.
Therefore, the clock is working against him to finally secure that elusive playoff berth. Can the Blue and Gold get him there in 2023-24?
Playoffs are a must for Buffalo Sabres in 2023-24, and it’s good news for Skinner
Expectations in Buffalo haven’t been high, and understandably so. The team stumbled its way through the 2010s decade, hiring and firing coaches every two seasons, while the front office never got things right with the roster.
The end result was a slew of some of the worst teams in recent NHL history. When Skinner came, the Blue and Gold looked like they were going to end that streak of futility following an epic run in November 2018, but the team eventually crash-landed back to Earth.
In 2019-20, the Sabres had another strong start, but they once again regressed, and we don’t even need to talk about the garbage season that was 2020-21. In 2021-22, this team finally showed signs of life late, and that trend continued (barring a few outliers) in 2022-23, when the Sabres clinched a 42-33-7 record (91 points), and just missed facing who we now know was an ailing Boston Bruins team.
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Given their immense improvement and building this organization from within, not only will the Buffalo Sabres likely end their playoff streak; so will Jeff Skinner. And that will be an awesome feeling to see one of the fan favorites finally make his playoff debut with what may once again be the NHL’s youngest team.
Source: Mike Harrington: After years of toil, former Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe finally gets playoff chance by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com
(Historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)