Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Jeff Skinner will sit out Game 2 of his three-game suspension from the NHL on Tuesday for cross-checking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel in the face.
Related
Skinner practiced on Monday, but he can’t play again until Saturday in Arizona against the Coyotes. Skinner seemed remorseful on Monday that his penalty hurt the team.
“It was unfortunate timing, and probably cost us a point there. That’s a tough feeling, and something you learn from," Skinner said following Monday's practice. "it was a tough task for them to kill the whole thing off, and it was unfortunate timing.”
As far as his thoughts on the suspension, he says he has to live with it.
“It’s one of those things where it happened, and they made their decision," Skinner said. "For me, I just move on and try to get better in practice, and get ready for the next game I can play in.”
Skinner knows things happen in the heat of battle, but you could tell he wished it had happened differently.
There are many Sabres fans that felt Skinner got the short end of things here. However, when looking at the replay, if everything that happened was called, Guentzel would've gotten two slashing penalties, while Skinner would’ve gotten a minor for slashing, a minor for cross-checking and a match penalty for cross-checking. Either way, Pittsburgh gets a five-minute power play.
“There was a lot of stuff going on, and there were a lot of bodies in there," Skinner said. "I didn’t mean to catch him as high as I did, and stuff happens in games. You try to protect yourself as well as you can, so it's just the way it goes.”
Skinner did point out that things aren’t happening in slow motion. When hands and sticks are up, sometimes those things happen.
The reason Brett Murray was sent back to the Rochester Americans is because Vinnie Hinostroza returned to practice on Monday. He’s still day-to-day, and will need more than just one practice to get ready to be back to playing action.
As for defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, there is no further update on his status, as he is still not practicing.
