"He's in the right spot, right time, gets rebounds that bounce to him, but that's having a knack for knowing where to go," forward Jason Pominville said. "He's good around the net. He probably knows where the puck's going to go and finds a way to get there. He's been fun to watch."
Skinner has scored 217 goals since entering the NHL in 2010-11, 16th in the League in that span. He has scored 170 at even strength, seventh in the NHL in that span.
The Sabres get a finisher, and Skinner gets to play with Eichel (four goals, 15 assists), who he called one of the best centers in the NHL. They have developed chemistry as linemates and are first and second on Buffalo in scoring (Skinner, 20 points; Eichel, 19).
Oh, and Skinner is plus-12. He was minus-27 last season and hasn't had a positive rating in a season since he was plus-3 in 2010-11, when he had 63 points (31 goals, 32 assists) and won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. He has been put in a position to succeed by often starting shifts in the offensive zone.
"Any time the team's playing well, I think individuals start to have success," Skinner said. "For me, I think the team's played well, the line's played well and I've been sort of on the right end of some of the plays."
Skinner knew he wasn't part of Carolina's long-term plans and waived his no-trade clause to come to Buffalo, which is relatively close to family in his hometown of Toronto.
"I didn't know exactly when [the trade] was going to happen," Skinner said. "I think there was a good feeling that it was going to happen. For me, fortunately Buffalo sort of gave me the opportunity. I'm pretty grateful for that."