Watch: Oilers' Skinner finally scores first career playoff goal

Edmonton Oilers center Jeff Skinner (53) reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Watch: Oilers' Jeff Skinner finally scores first career playoff goal in 15th season

By Adam Gretz | Last updated May 29, 2025 9:26 PM ET

Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner waited longer to play in his first Stanley Cup playoff game than any player in NHL history. It took him until his 15th season in the league and 1,075 regular season games before finally getting the opportunity, and on Thursday night, while playing in his second playoff game, he finally scored his first career playoff goal.

Have a look:

HIS NAME IS JEFF

Jeff Skinner gets his first career #StanleyCup Playoffs goal!

: @espn & @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/m0LyTCHYnH
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/StWZI3kOic
— NHL (@NHL) May 30, 2025

That goal gave the Oilers a 3-0 first period lead in Game 5 of their Western Conference Final series. It was all part of an incredible start that saw the Oilers chase Dallas Stars starting goalie Jake Oettinger out of the game after just eight minutes of playing time.

Prior to this season Skinner spent his entire career split between the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres. He missed Carolina's rise to the top of the Eastern Conference by just one season, and then spent six seasons in Buffalo during the Sabres' perpetual rebuild. He was bought out by the Sabres this past offseason and signed with Edmonton as a free agent.

He has 373 regular season goals in his career. Now he finally has his first career playoff goal.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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