Kris Knoblauch did not hold back his praise for the Edmonton Oilers forward.

EDMONTON -- "Overall, I think he played a really good game." and he's played really well for the last couple weeks."

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Hard work pays off, just ask Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner. 

Things obviously haven't gone the way he would like this season. There have been times when he has struggled defensively or lacked forechecking aggression. Those days appear to be in the rearview mirror.

After putting together a string of games where he showed up on the game highlights for his defensive play, it was only a matter of time before he would be rewarded.

On Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, Skinner found himself on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin. That trio did not disappoint.

Skinner assisted on Draisaitl's league-leading 38th goal while putting his 10th of the year past netminder Arvid Soderblom. After the game, head coach Kris Knoblauch was asked about his game and he did not hold back his praise.

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"Jeff's been playing really well," Knoblauch explained. "His details have been good, he's been checking hard, he's been getting in the forecheck, he's been in the right position defensively."

Getting in on the forecheck and being in the right position defensively are big things for Knoblauch. There is enough of an argument to be made that he lost his earlier deployment on Draisaitl's wing because he did not do those two things enough.

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Knoblauch highlighted the importance of defensive positioning later in his post-game scrum.

"Just being in the right place to break up that play," Knoblauch said. "If he isn't in the right place defensively, they are on a rush against, and we have to defend."

"But, he's able to break that play up and (it) leads to a scoring chance."

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Great defense leads to great offense. It's unfortunate for Skinner that it took so long to piece it all together, but the reward must be satisfying.

Skinner finished the game with 15:27 of ice time. According to MoneyPuck, he had five scoring chances and three shots on goal.

Oilers fans should be happy to see Skinner's hard work pay off.

"He's played really well for the last couple weeks."

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