Evander Kane Leads Buffalo Sabres Weekly Stars
Last week was a busy one for the Buffalo Sabres, as they played four games between Monday, March 7 and Saturday, March 12.
Now, after a few days off, the Buffalo Sabres return to action tonight, with the Montreal Canadiens coming into town.
But before we begin this week’s games, we need to first look back at last week.
The Buffalo Sabres opened last week with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Sabres rallied in the third period, with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane both scoring in the final period to push the game to overtime, then a shootout, in which Buffalo won the extra point.
Buffalo followed that one up with a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Sam Reinhart scored his 19th of the season, with Johan Larsson adding his sixth of the year, but it wasn’t enough to face the offensive efforts of the Blueshirts.
A couple days later, the Buffalo Sabres visited the Montreal Canadiens, a team they fell to by a score of 3-2.
Nicolas Deslauriers scored in his hometown for Buffalo, while former Canadiens captain Brian Gionta also scored.
But Alex Galchenyuk notched a pair of goals, and former Buffalo Sabres forward Torrey Mitchell added one for the win.
Finally, the Sabres closed out the week by hosting the Carolina Hurricanes for a Saturday matinee.
In the end, Buffalo would come out on top 3-2 in overtime, thanks to that beautiful, literally last-second Eichel goal.
Marcus Foligno also scored in regulation, with Eichel getting the other tally.
So who were the top performers for the Buffalo Sabres last week?
More from Sabre Noise
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects
3. Sam Reinhart
The young rookie absolutely deserves a star this week.
Reinhart had two assists in the shootout win over Toronto, just the start of a solid week for him. He also played 5:23 on the power play that night.
He followed that up with a goal against the Rangers, a game during which he also had three blocked shots.
Reinhart was held pointless in the Montreal game (but still managed 3 shots and played 19:28).
He rebounded on Saturday with an assist and 4:45 of power-play time.
Overall, that’s four points in as many games. Reinhart played over 17 minutes a night, including 19:50 against the Hurricanes.
2. Jack Eichel
I know, I know. I should probably give Eichel the first star, based on that overtime goal alone.
But this *is* my piece, and while I felt he earned a star, I’m giving him second.
Eichel had a goal against the Leafs and added an assist against the Rangers.
Like Reinhart, he was held pointless against the Canadiens but rebounded for a pair of goals, including that OT winner, against Carolina.
Eichel registered four points in as many games and also had 15 shots on goal, including four each against New York, Montreal and Carolina.
He played over 21 minutes each night, including a week-high 22:12 on Thursday against Montreal.
1. Evander Kane
Finally, a forward gets my first-star honors.
Kane earned it with five points in four games this week.
He opened the week with a two-point performance against the Leafs, including a goal and an assist. Kane followed that up by being held pointless the next night against the Rangers, but still had four shots and two takeaways.
The Buffalo Sabres forward then added an assist and SEVEN shots in the loss to Montreal.
He ended the week with a two-goal performance against the Hurricanes, adding six shots in the matinee win.
To summarize, that’s five points and 18 shots on goal in four games, plus eight hits, one blocked shot and five takeaways.
Kane played over 22 minutes a night, including a week-high 23:08 against Carolina.
Next: NHL Draft Lottery Simulation 5.0
This week sees the Sabres jam in three games in four nights, a busy one on tap.
The Buffalo Sabres open the week on Wednesday by hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Ottawa comes to town on Friday, with the Sabres visiting the Leafs on Saturday night.
All three games start at 7 p.m. and are on MSG.