Jeff Skinner will reach a huge milestone against the Washington Capitals tonight.
The 31-year-old forward will become the 393rd player in NHL history to play in 1,000 games, joining James van Riemsdyk (Boston), TJ Oshie (Washington), John Carlson (Washington), and Nick Leddy (Detroit), who all hit the milestone in recent weeks.
Skinner, who has registered six 30-goal seasons in his career, got a shoutout from Lily Collins, the star of Emily in Paris, to help celebrate his big night. It’s no star singer rewriting their iconic song to fit your personal milestone, but it’s still mighty impressive.
“Bonjour, Jeff,” Collins, the Golden Globe nominated actress, said. “I heard that you were a big fan so I wanted to send you a congratulatory video for your 1,000th game in the NHL. I’ve never played one game, yet alone 1,000, so props to you for that. Saying hi from the backdrops of somewhere I think you know very well. Congratulations. Good luck. And au revoir.”
Collins filmed the video while shooting the fourth season of the popular Netflix series.
The Sabres captured Skinner watching the shoutout. The veteran of 14 years in the NHL could be seen grinning ear to ear.
“That was good!” he said. “I didn’t know she kept up with me or the Sabres, that was cool to see.
“Merci, Emily! I hope everything works out for you in season four. I’ll be rooting for you!”
As for which love interest Emily should end up with, Gabriel or Alfie, Skinner took a diplomatic tone.
“I’m kind of undecided,” he said. “I’d like to see how it plays out. I just hope she’s happy.”
Skinner’s love for the show was first revealed back in 2022 when he was mic’d up during practice.
“There’s a new season coming out,” Skinner said. “This season she gets bangs!”
Collins saw Skinner’s excited response then and reposted it on her own Instagram account. She added the caption “Well this is one @emilyinparis crossover I wasn’t expecting…”
The Collins shoutout is one of several ways the Sabres have honored Skinner ahead of puck drop at KeyBank Center tonight.
In honor of his 1,000th @NHL game tonight, the team got together to show their support for Jeff Skinner with a gift themed around the milestone.
Plus, some @smartwater. 😂 pic.twitter.com/xneHeYvKPV
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 2, 2024
Welcome to ‘Between 2 Stalls: The Jeff Skinner 1,000th Game Reunion Special,’ presented by @smartwater.
And now, your hosts… pic.twitter.com/sxXPh1K7Sp
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 1, 2024
Now we know what the backups were for Jeff's goal song 🔥
Give his playlist a listen ahead of his 1,000th NHL game tonight: https://t.co/BITOLNIZTX#LetsGoBuffalo | @smartwater pic.twitter.com/kOeQdX1iaG
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 2, 2024
It's happening! 🤩#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/1YOdv3hH3V
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 2, 2024
https://twitter.com/JoeYerdon/status/1774801019421045009
Skinner’s milestone comes as the Sabres are trying to remain in the hunt for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The team sits seven points behind the Capitals for the spot and has not made the playoffs since 2011.
“Judging by the way they’ve played over the last couple of games… it looks like this is a team, and mathematically, that’s fighting to stay alive,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said after the team’s morning skate, Tuesday. “I think that’s what we should expect. They have a very talented team that can cause issues for any team in the NHL and it’ll be no different for us tonight. So we need to be at the top of our game if we expect to have success in their building.”
