Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - Jeff Skinner hasn't scored a goal in nine games, but it hasn't been because of a lack of effort. In those games, the winger has 33 shots and a couple of posts. He's still on an 82-game pace to score 45 goals this season and is one off his career high.
In the Edmonton game, Skinner was stopped on a breakaway and had a late open net tip graze the post. He said sometimes breaks don't happen, "Sometimes that happens and we still get some breaks, but sometimes when it's going that way it snowballs a little bit. Breaks are going to come and go."
As for why his slump has lasted so long, Skinner said, "I don't think there's a concrete answer or we'd go out and fix it. You just have to keep going out and trying to focus to create those chances and then you have to finish and bear down."
With as far as the team has plummeted, many fans have expressed concern to me that Skinner will have lost interest in staying in Buffalo. Skinner said results now aren't going to sway things in the negotiation. He also isn't worried about what is going to be the final result, "There are going to be no specifics on it, they're going to figure that out I think and that will figure itself out in the future and I don't really worry about it."
Skinner watches what goes on in the NHL and he knows what players are signing for. He said, "You're aware of everything in the league that goes on, it's your job, but that's not really a focus."
Most coaches don't pay attention to plus/minus or individual Corsi because both are skewed depending on situations or who you're on the ice with. Rasmus Ristolainen is minus-33, which is worst in the NHL. Kyle Okposo said, even though it means nothings, players do take notice, "It weighs on a player for sure. You look at it and it can look ugly and sometimes it's not indicative of how a game went and other times it is.
"It's a flawed stat as everybody has pointed out and everybody knows now, but it can definitely weight on a player for sure."
When Rasmus Ristolainen spoke to reporters about it, he said he's spoken about it enough and is done talking about it. The next worst plus/minus rating after Ristolainen is a minus-25.
A few players skated on Tuesday with the rest doing off-ice workouts.
