Oilers make Jeff Skinner healthy scratch vs. Blackhawks

Edmonton Oilers centre Jeff Skinner (53) looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (Matt Krohn/AP)

When the Edmonton Oilers visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, top free-agent acquisition Jeff Skinner will be watching from the press box.

The forward will be made a healthy scratch for the second time this season amidst a failure to find his offensive game with his new team, per play-by-play analyst Jack Michaels. Josh Brown will be the second healthy scratch while Derek Ryan and Troy Stetcher slot into the lineup.

Skinner signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Oilers on July 1 after he was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres.

A five-time 30 goal-scorer and one-time 40 goal-scorer, Skinner has struggled this season with Edmonton, scoring just seven goals and 15 points with a minus-10 rating, leading to being bumped from the Oilers’ top-six.

He’s averaging a career-low 12 minutes 36 seconds per game.

Watch the Oilers take on the Blackhawks on Hockey Night in Canada starting at 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. MT.

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