NEW YORK, NY – Carolina Hurricanes center Jeff Skinner, who led all rookies in scoring with 14 points (nine goals, five assists), has been named the NHL Rookie of the Month for January.
Skinner edged Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand (7-4–11 in 13 games), Buffalo Sabres forward Tyler Ennis (3-7–10 in 12 games), New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello (3-7–10 in 14 games) and Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (6-0-0, 1.90 GAA in six games) for the award.
The Hurricanes went 6-1-0 in games that Skinner tallied a goal in January, beginning with his two-goal performance in a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils January 1. He sparked the Hurricanes to a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers January 7 by notching a pair of second-period goals that erased a 2-0 Panthers lead. He also recorded a five-game point streak from January 7-15 (five goals, three assists).
The Markham, Ont. native was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game January 26 and earned an assist for Team Staal in the mid-season showcase in front of a home crowd at the RBC Center January 30, becoming the youngest All-Star in NHL history (18 years, 259 days). Skinner broke the record set by Steve Yzerman in 1984 (18 years, 267 days).
Skinner joins previous Rookie of the Month winners Michal Neuvirth of the Washington Capitals (October), the Flyers’ Bobrovsky (November) and Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks (December).
Jeff Skinner in January
Date Opponent G A Pts. Result
January 1 NEW JERSEY 2 0 2 6-3 win
January 3 FLORIDA 0 0 0 4-3 loss (OT)
January 5 at NY Rangers 0 0 0 2-1 loss (OT)
January 7 at Florida 2 1 3 5-3 win
January 9 ATLANTA 1 0 1 4-3 win (OT)
January 11 CALGARY 0 1 1 6-5 win (SO)
January 13 at Buffalo 1 0 1 3-2 loss
January 15 TAMPA BAY 1 1 2 6-4 win
January 17 at Boston 0 0 0 7-0 loss
January 18 BOSTON 0 1 1 3-2 loss
January 20 NY RANGERS 1 1 2 4-1 win
January 22 at Pittsburgh 0 0 0 3-2 loss
January 24 TORONTO 1 0 1 6-4 win
January 26 at NY Islanders 0 0 0 4-2 win
Totals 9 5 14 8-4-2
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