Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For the first time since Feb. 25, Jason Zucker was on the ice for Monday’s morning skate. Zucker practiced with the top power play unit, and head coach Lindy Ruff indicated he’s trending towards playing against the Edmonton Oilers.
Zucker has missed six games after blocking a shot against the New York Rangers and said the injury did take longer than he expected to heal.
On Friday Zucker inked a two-year contract extension and he said getting the second year was key,
“That was really important to me, it was something I was pushing for from the beginning, I told Kevyn (Adams) right away that for me, wanting to be here was not on a one year basis, so I was thankful that he had the belief in me to want to do that and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
Former Sabres winger Jeff Skinner has been a healthy scratch for the Edmonton Oilers in four of the last six games, but he’ll be back in the lineup for this one. Skinner had a goal in 10:44 of play when the Oilers beat the Sabres 3-2 in Edmonton.
As you know Skinner was bought out by the Sabres last summer and then signed with the Oilers. He said he’s been around the league long enough to expect anything,
“You get a better feel for things and how things may turn out and then you just look forward to the next opportunity, but there are a lot of good memories and a lot of great friendships I made here.”
We all know how passionate the fans here are about their teams, but players may not know. Skinner grew up near Toronto and he said,
“It’s being a part of the community and being in Toronto you’re so close, but I don’t think you really understand how much the team means to everyone in this community until you’re actually here and experience it, so that’s one of the things that stands out when I think about it.”
Skinner played 427 games with the Sabres scoring 153 goals and 291 points. In 53 games with the Oilers he has 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points.
The Oilers have won two straight after losing five straight games.
Leon Draisaitl has had an amazing year as he leads the NHL with 46 goals. That’s 11 more than Will Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets. His 95 points are second behind Nate MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche who has 100 and his 49 assists are ninth in the league.
Connor McDavid is fourth in league scoring with 24 goals and 57 assists for 81 points in 57 games.
Stuart Skinner will be in goal. He’s 22-15-4 with a 2.87 goals against and .897 save percentage.
Tune in during “Schopp and the Bulldog” for pregame coverage on WGR at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff and Zucker.