The Carolina Hurricanes pulled out a 5-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks Friday thanks in large part to a two-goal performance from Jeff Skinner.
His big night gives the club reason to celebrate, but behind the scenes, it adds to a conundrum.
Jeff Skinner notched his seventh game-winner of the season. Only two players in the NHL have more.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) February 20, 2016
At 23 years of age, following a couple of roller-coaster seasons, Skinner's future with the Hurricanes appears hazy.
Since a remarkable rookie campaign in 2010-11 that saw Skinner pile up 31 goals and 63 points, the Hurricanes have been waiting for him to duplicate that production.
Outside of 33 goals in 2013-14, Skinner has failed to show the same offensive firepower.
| Year | Goals | Points | Points per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 31 | 63 | 0.77 |
| 2011-12 | 20 | 44 | 0.69 |
| 2012-13 | 12 | 24 | 0.57 |
| 2013-14 | 33 | 54 | 0.76 |
| 2014-15 | 18 | 31 | 0.4 |
| 2015-16 | 21 | 34 | 0.57 |
However, with 21 goals through 59 games this season, the former Calder Trophy winner has already eclipsed his goal and point totals from one year ago, and is on pace to finish just shy of the 30-goal mark.
The Hurricanes currently find themselves just outside the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, a place very few envisioned them in entering the season.
The team is supposed to be in a rebuild, and heading toward the trade deadline, Skinner may be a good bargaining chip for the Hurricanes as teams look to bolster their clubs with goal-scorers.
Jeff Skinner has 2 so far tonight. He has his 4th career season of 20+ goals- tied for the 3rd most by a 'Cane since franchise moved to CAR
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) February 20, 2016
The situation is tricky, however, as Skinner is just 23 and under contract through the 2018-19 season with a cap hit of $6 million.
That cap hit could scare off potential trade partners, while the possibility of seeing Skinner return to his former self must remain in the minds of Carolina's management.
A deal could provide the club with draft picks or prospects, but Skinner could turn out to be exactly the kind of player they're searching for.
General manager Ron Francis isn't likely to make a rash decision, but with the possibility of having either a stud or dud on his hands in the same player, no choice appears to be the easy one.
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The NHL's lowest-scoring team was shut out for the sixth time this season Friday, as the New Jersey Devils lost a costly division game 1-0 to the New York Islanders.
Related: Islanders' Halak shuts out Devils to start 7-game road trip
A win would have brought the Devils into a tie for third in the Metropolitan Division, but they instead remain a point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins - who have three games in hand on New Jersey - for the final Eastern Conference wild-card position.
"It seems like everyone's winning around us," forward Travis Zajac said, per NJ.com. "We've got to find a way to get points. We have a chance to get back at it tomorrow going into a tough building. We've played well against good teams."
Despite another stellar performance from goalie Cory Schneider, who allowed just one goal for the third time in his last four starts, the Devils' inability to score continues to haunt them; they have not scored four goals in a game since Jan. 21.
The road won't get easier for the Devils, as they'll look to avoid a third consecutive divisional loss Saturday against the league-best Washington Capitals, who they've failed to beat in their two previous meetings this season.
"It's tough. We have to bounce back after this and put a string together and get ourselves right back in the race," forward Reid Boucher added. "I think we'll bounce back."
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There's no place like home.
After dropping three straight games on the road, the Montreal Canadiens returned home and used a gutsy shootout effort to get by the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Friday.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
Despite the club's recent struggles, the win marks the fourth straight for the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, improving their home record to 16-11-2.
The club showed resilience in climbing back from a 2-1 deficit in the third period to tie the game thanks to captain Max Pacioretty's 21st goal of the season.
The shootout capped off a contest that was uneventful until the final period and an absolutely wild three-on-three overtime frame.
Related: VIDEO: Crowd emphatically cheers on Subban midgame
The victory allows the Canadiens a huge sigh of relief after headlines earlier Friday suggested defenseman P.K. Subban was on the trade market. Meanwhile, chatter around the city remained focused on the relationship between Subban and head coach Michel Therrien.
The off-ice distractions appeared to have little impact on the team's leading scorer, who collected two assists to reach 46 points on the season.
#canadiens Max Pacioretty: "PK was probably the best player on the ice tonight." #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) February 20, 2016
The Canadiens will take the weekend off before welcoming the Nashville Predators to town Monday, when they'll look to push their home winning streak to five games.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.