Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - Jeff Skinner was, once again, total class when talking about his three-game benching form the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. At Friday's practice, he was lined up at left wing with Casey Mittelstadt and Riley Sheahan, so it looks like he may get back to playing Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
That might be a pretty good line, if Mittelstadt keeps progressing the way he has lately. Skinner said following practice he’s holding up just fine.
“The best way to cope with this, I take it a day at a time. For me, I’d like to be out there battling with my teammates, but today is a new day and you try to move forward and keep getting better.”
Skinner is human, so, of course, he’s upset he’s been benched.
“There are a lot of emotions involved and you take time to digest that, but the more important thing is to keep moving forward,” Krueger said.
You hear coaches say that players can watch from up top and learn from what they’re seeing. Skinner said after 700 games in the NHL, he doesn’t get anything out of that.
“I’ve watched a lot of hockey games, I’ve played in a lot of hockey games. I don’t think you learn anything extra by not being out there."
Skinner has been consistent throughout his career about revealing what’s said in the locker room. He said what’s said between him and Krueger will remain behind closed doors.
“I don’t feel it’s constructive. I don’t think it’s respectful to get into details about what we’ve talked about or how long we’ve talked or any of those details.”
Many think Skinner’s agent Don Meehan called Kevyn Adams and asked for a trade. When asked if he’d like to move on, Skinner emphatically said no.
"I love being a Sabre. I love the city of Buffalo, and I wouldn’t have chosen to stay here if that wasn’t the case, so that answer is simple.”
Ralph Krueger claims that he had no idea that Adams and Meehan had talked. He, of course, had his say on the matter too.
“It’s always good when a player has an opportunity to step out of the bubble we’re in to process the game and his teammates and the way we’re playing," Krueger said. "I feel that Jeff has managed this extremely well, very professional.”
Many have been asking what does Skinner have to do to get back into the lineup?
“It’s the principles that we expect everybody to execute, and if principles are off here and there, sometimes they don’t embrace certain things and if they do, they’ll be rewarded with minutes played, with roles," Krueger said.
“We are an environment with accountability, and you need to earn your keep every single game and every single practice. This doesn’t only apply to Jeff, it applies to every player on our team.”
Jack Eichel and Linus Ullmark both missed practice on Friday. Both are dealing with lower-body injuries.
“Jack remains day-to-day," Krueger said. "With Linus, we’re not expecting him to be available over this weekend, but we are hoping it becomes a day-to-day [situation] after the weekend.”
Krueger didn’t rule Eichel out to play on Saturday, saying he’s questionable, day-to-day.
Rasmus Ristolainen appears poised to make his return after missing seven games due to COVID-19.
“Hopefully what we’ve seen from him, we’ll see tomorrow morning and we’ll put him back in the lineup. So it’s a high possibility that he plays,” Krueger said.
Tobi Rieder will also be healthy enough to return on Saturday.
Friday’s lines:
Rieder – Eakin – Okposo
Hall – Staal – Cozens
Skinner – Mittelstadt – Sheahan
Olofsson – Lazar – Reinhart
Fitzgerald – Asplund – Thompson
Defense:
Dahlin – Miller
Bryson – Ristolainen
Jokiharju – Montour
Davidson – Irwin
Brian Koziol will have Saturday’s pregame coverage starting at 12 p.m. EST on WGR, where he’ll be joined by Krueger, Skinner and Mittelstadt.
