Buffalo Sabres Jack Eichel Leads Weekly Three Stars
The Buffalo Sabres won just one of three games over the course of the last week, falling to both the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings.
The Sabres started off the week on a high note, defeating the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 2-1.
Jack Eichel and Jamie McGinn both scored power-play goals in the second period to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.
Antoine Vermette would put the Coyotes on the board in the third, but Chad Johnson kept it together, stopping 26 of 27 shots faced to help Buffalo to the win.
Following that, the Buffalo Sabres traveled to Colorado for a late-night tilt against the Avalanche on Wednesday.
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Evander Kane put Buffalo on the board with yet another power-play goal in the second period, and the Buffalo Sabres maintained that lead for some time.
The Avalanche tied it up midway through the third, then scored one late – with 32 seconds left in regulation – to give them the heart-breaking win.
Certainly a disappointing loss, since the team was just 32 seconds away from garnering at least a point. Sigh.
The Buffalo Sabres followed that up with a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at home on Friday.
That being said, there were still a few shining rays in this week’s games.
3. Ryan O’Reilly
O’Reilly registered two assists over the course of the week, including one against his former team on Wednesday.
Although he finished the week a minus-3, O’Reilly also had five shots on goal, including three against the Avalanche, one hit and one blocked shot.
The Buffalo Sabres forward averaged 48 percent in the faceoff circle, boosted by a 60% faceoff win percentage against the Red Wings.
O’Reilly also played over 20 minutes every night, including 22:57 in the win over the Coyotes and 21:54 against the Avalanche.
2. Robin Lehner
Let’s put it this way. It’d be easy to say Lehner doesn’t belong on this list, simply because the Buffalo Sabres lost both games he played in last week.
But I’d be hard-pressed to say that Lehner didn’t earn this spot.
Through two games, he stopped 75 of 79 shots faced.
That included 42 of 44 shots faced against the Red Wings and 33 of 35 faced against the Avalanche.
All this for a guy who’s just recently returning from his conditioning stint in the AHL, before which he hadn’t played a game in months.
It’s a process, but Lehner needs time to return to form after coming back from so much time off.
1. Jack Eichel
I have to give Eichel this week’s first star. He’s earned it.
Eichel had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over the Coyotes.
He also added an assist against the Avalanche for three points in as many games over the course of the week.
The Buffalo Sabres rookie also registered four shots on goal, one hit and two takeaways.
He played 7:05 on the power play and 51:18 overall.
This week is a light one for the Buffalo Sabres, with just two games on tap – but they won’t be easy. Two road games, back-to-back, Monday and Tuesday.
First up are the New York Rangers on Monday night, a nationally-televised game on NBCSN. The Buffalo Sabres then travel to the nation’s capital – no, not the US, but Canada – to face the Ottawa Senators Tuesday.
Both games start at 7:30 p.m.
Next: Five Buffalo Sabres Who Could Be On Trade Block
The NHL All-Star Break begins Thursday, with the Buffalo Sabres’ next game coming on February 3.