No offense to Jack Eichel, our Captain and the prize of the great 2015 Tank, but there’s a Buffalo Sabres player missing from the 2019 NHL All-Star Roster and that player’s Jeff Skinner.
It’s a total travesty that Skinner’s not a lock for the roster. He’s made his case even more readily apparent, lifting Buffalo atop his shoulders and firing two past Robert Luongo, one unassisted, to beat the Florida Panthers as Eichel sits out and recovers from an upper-body injury.
Skinner trails only Alex Ovechkin in goals.
Is Alex O on the All-Star Roster?
I’ll give you two guesses.
Let’s face it. Gary Bettman hates Buffalo.
It’s not like any of us are sweet on him.
While the whole of fandom blames him for the lockouts that have occurred under his watch, our slight is much more poignant, much more personal. The words “no goal” have burned the throats of screaming Sabres fans for nearly two decades now. It’s a shame that we Buffalo fans have to live with both “no goal” and “wide right” — one a call that should’ve happened and one an announcement that sadly did — but we’re of tough stock… and getting used to disappointment.
And now this slight.
The Sabres have finally started to turn the losing ship around and pointed the team toward the playoffs.
It’s a shame that the rest of the league hasn’t caught up to the notion.
The San Jose Sharks, the All-Star “home” team landed three players.
They have 51 points in the standings. We’re only one shy of that total.
We got one player, but we’re due two.
No sleep till Skinner, people. No sleep till Skinner.
Last Man In voting closes January 10th.
We’ve got nearly a week, Buffalo.
Let’s make it count.
Vote for Skinner at the Last Man In ballot here — nhl.com/all-star-ballot
You can vote ten times each 24 hours.
You can… and you will.