Jeff Skinner seemed to be in the middle of everything Friday in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at PNC Arena.
Whether setting up Derek Ryan for a goal, tangling with Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen around the net, giving his opinion to the referees or being a part of a big push in the final minutes of regulation, Skinner often was front and center. Vocal, engaged.
More importantly for the Canes, 21 games into the season, Skinner might have found the right line to be the most effective.
Canes coach Bill Peters has a found a lot of success — and winger Sebastian Aho starting finding the net — after using Aho and Teuvo Teravainen on a line with center Jordan Staal.