The young but talented Carolina Hurricanes winger, Jeff Skinner, was announced the National Hockey League’s First Star for the week ending December 8th.
The 21 year-old had quite the week. Scoring five goals and earning one assist in only three games, Skinner put the Canes up on the scoreboard.
He started the week strong in the game Tuesday, December 3rd against the Washington Capitals. Scoring just past the midway point of the first period, Skinner gave Carolina a 1-0 lead along with the team’s motivation to take control of the game. At the beginning of the second period, the Hurricanes scored three goals in 3:44, the first being Skinner’s second goal.
On Thursday of last week, Skinner achieved his first career hat trick in a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators. After the Predators had reached a 2-1 lead, the Canes responded with four unanswered goals, two being goals by Skinner in the second period, and the final being an empty-netter made by Skinner to seal the win as well as his hat trick title.
Coming back from an upper-body injury at the end of November, Skinner has finally started to get back to his normal goal-scoring self. Skinner started strong at the beginning of the season but was quickly put down by his injury, having to miss 11 out of 30 games with the Carolina Hurricanes. Coach Muller made a statement about Skinner after Tuesday’s game against the Capitals saying, “He was off to a great start and then got hurt… Now he is starting to get in the groove again.”
(Associated Press)
Although Skinner was out-of-pocket for so many games, he still leads the Hurricanes in goals with nine this season.
Skinner was selected by the Canes in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and has made a big impact ever since. In 207 career NHL games, Skinner has totaled 73 goals and 75 assists. He has made his name known for Carolina as one of the youngest and most popular players. Since he has come to the team, he has been a favorite to everyone. Being young, handsome, AND extremely talented, Skinner has a lot going for him. As the Canes continue into the season, Skinner plans to keep the team on their feet. After being named NHL’s first star of the week, he hopes to prove his name by racking up some more points in the games this week.
