The Skinner Spinner vs. Philadelphia - 11/21/11 - NHL.com
All great players have a signature move.
The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, had his hard stop along the boards and full turn to either feed a pass to a striding teammate or to release a shot that a goaltender knew would end up behind him in the net.
Former Chicago Blackhawks captain, Denis Savard, was famous for his open-ice rushes on defenseman who could only watch and give him his ticket as Savard blew by them as if going through a turnstile in the subway.
Even the NHL’s marquee star, Sidney Crosby, exhibits similar power moves when needed.
On the same night that featured highlights of Crosby tallying two goals and two assists in his first game back in over 11 months since being sidelined with a concussion-related injury, the Hurricanes’ leading scorer, Jeff Skinner in his sophomore year, was busy creating highlight reel material of his own.
Exhibiting his usual fluid-like skating style, Skinner was on a two-on-two rush and as he approached Flyer defenseman Kimmo Timonen, he let loose with a spin move that caught his defender flat and allowed him to blow by him before finishing the play with a goal, putting it past goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
When I asked Skinner about the move and why he used it that situation he stated, “I was just trying to create some space and some speed going through the neutral zone. You can look to dump it or you can sort of look to create some separation and that’s all I was trying to do there.”
That wasn’t the first time that Skinner has used the Spinner and it won’t be the last.
The move seems to open up space for Skinner in all areas of the ice and to catch defensemen off-guard.
“I don’t know what it is,” Skinner said.
“When you’re carrying the puck out in front of you it’s tough to protect. The D-men in this league all have great sticks and they poke the puck off of you when you’re not even expecting it, so turning backwards for that split second eliminates that possibility, and I have more time so that I can keep it away from their stick and their body to create some speed to make a move.”
Even opposing Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, a fellow NHL sophomore class member, talked highly of Skinner’s skills.
“High-skilled players are going to try and pull off those types of moves and they can,” Subban said.
“He’s a player with a lot of talent and a lot of skill and he’s showing that – it’s great to see. He’s a good player in this league. That being said, I have to play against him tonight and I gotta’ make sure it’s not fun for him"
Subban emphasized that he would look for not allowing Skinner to get that extra step past him by establishing the right body position.
“He’s the type of guy that if he gets a step on you, he’s got the strength to hold it off and maintain it. You have to know where to be, when to engage and when not to, and in giving time and space to respect him because he’s a good player.”
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