Veteran Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner happy to snap 15-season playoff drought

Jeff Skinner has experienced a lot over 1,078 NHL games.

The energy and excitement of a playoff game, though, have eluded him so far.

That will change Monday when Skinner and the Edmonton Oilers take the ice for Game 1 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings.

The chance to go on a post-season run is part of what drew Skinner to Edmonton as a free agent last summer.

"Obviously coming here, my first year here, and I knew that we have a pretty good team, we want to try and be a part of it," the veteran forward said Sunday.

"And, it's a good feeling. You kind of work toward it the whole year. So we all worked together toward it, and now we try and get rolling."

Drafted seventh overall by the Hurricanes in 2010, Skinner spent the first eight seasons of his career as part of Carolina's rebuild.

How to make the most of the Oilers playoffs run

Skinner was dealt to Buffalo in 2019 and spent six years with a Sabres side that hasn't played a post-season game since 2011.

No one goes into the NHL season thinking they're going to miss the playoffs — especially 14 years in a row, Skinner said.

"Every year you kind of feel like coming into the year, like every other team, you feel like you've got a chance," he said. "And you try and work toward your goal and you come up short and you don't get to experience it. And then, obviously, just keep plugging away."

Never before has an NHL player appeared in 1,078 regular-season games and not a single playoff game.

The feat hasn't gone unnoticed by Skinner's teammates.

Oilers captain Connor McDavid handed the 32-year-old forward the team's player-of-the game award — a wrestling belt — in the locker room after Edmonton clinched it's post-season berth. Video of the moment shows