Jack Eichel felt the ecstasy and the agony of the NHL on Tuesday night.
Before the shine was off the ice in the first period, Eichel scored his 20th goal of teh season, the fortieth of his NHL career.
However, in the dying moments of the second period, Eichel booted a pass that wound up as the game winning goal in the Buffalo net behind Robin Lehner.
After the punch in the gut loss, Eichel took accountability for his error
The trio of Matt Moulson-Jack Eichel-Samson Reinhart had the dubious distinction of being on the ice when the San Jose Sharks scored their final three goals in Tuesday night's 4-1 loss.
Eichel booted a Cody Franson pass that kissed off his skate and into the Buffalo net for the eventual game winning goal. It was a forgettable night for the 26-15-23 line.
Dan Bylsma decided to park the Eichel trio for the final five minutes of the game.
The event summary says that Eichel skated a career-low 14:06 TOI in the loss at San Jose. Reinhart skated only 14:35 TOI while Moulson skate just 10:51 TOI.
Why did Bylsma bench Eichel? Why not move Moulson to another line and promote Evander Kane or Marcus Foligno to the Eichel-Reinhart duo?
Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News spoke with the Sabres' bench boss after Tuesday's practice session in Los Angeles.
"The second goal in the game that goes off Jack is a fluke," Bylsma said. "It's a one-in-a-million situation that happens and finds its way in the back of the net. But at the 4-1 point, it was more things weren't going that line's way and we're playing a lot of hockey here in the next little bit. It was 4-1 and they didn't get back on the ice."
Bylsma has said several times in recent weeks that he expects the 20 year old phenom to make mistakes on the ice.
"One thing Jack has done really well is respond in game to different situations," Bylsma said. "Whether it's a mistake or turnover or a power play that hasn't gone well, I think he's done a remarkable job lately playing that way. The last stretch of games, he's been the guy with the go-after it attitude and the keep-playing attitude. That's what I've liked about Jack the last 10 games."
Why the benching, Dan?
The Sabres dug themselves out of a three goal deficit last Saturday night in their 5-3 win over Columbus.
I would not have flown the white flag trailing by three goals with five minutes remaining in any game, especially when I have high-skilled weapons of mass destruction at my disposal like Eichel, Reinhart, Evander Kane, Ryan O'Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brian Gionta and others.
I'm willing to bet that Eichel will clear his head of any remnants of negativity and have himself a massive bounce back game beneath the brights lights in Hollywood on Thursday night.
Bylsma has shaken his money maker a couple of times this season. Each time, Jack has responded with strong "I got your benching right here, pal" plays in all three zones.
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It will be a New York State Of Mind at the NHL Winter Classic.
According to Newday, The NHL Winter Classic likely will make its Gotham debut on New Year’s Day 2018. The report features an outdoor game at Citi Field in Queens between the Jimmy Vesey's New York Rangers and Jack Eichel's Buffalo Sabres.
The deal is close to being finalized.
Eichel and Vesey are close friends off the ice and intense competitors on the rink.
The trademark outdoor hockey franchise for the NHL has been held at iconic Major League Baseball stadiums, however, New York City has never hosted one.
New York hosted two NHL "Stadium Series” games featuring the Rangers and New Jersey Devils and Islanders, at iconic Yankee Stadium in January, 2014.
The Rangers have played in only one prior NHL Winter Classic, against the Philadelphia Flyers in Citizens Bank Park in Philly in 2012.
The reported selection of the Sabres is said to be homage to Buffalo for hosting the first ever Winter Classic in 2008. Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres in the "snow globe" Winter Classic in Buffalo in the shootout on January 1, 2008.
Happy 10 year anniversary, Sabres fans!
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CapFriendly.com reports that Sabres super sophomore Jack Eichel achieved a contract bonus last night in San Jose when he scored his 20th goal of the season.
Eichel may receive a $2 million escalator if he finishes the season in the Top 10 of NHL points per game.
Eichel is ninth in the NHL today.
Sabres may face a overage penalty on Eichel next season.
Tim Murray has $1.4 million in salary cap space remaining. The additional $600,000 would be tacked on as a penalty next season.
Eichel's bonus won't break the bank, however, in a flat salary cap world the bonus would take dollars out only the budget. Murray will have to plan accordingly.
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Updated:
Oh, no!
Sharks knuckle dragger Micheal Haley applied forecheck pressure and tipped a pass that redirected off Jack Eichel's skate and eluded Robin Lehner, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead. Haley's "goal" was the game winner.
Sharks win 4-1.
The slim playoff hopes of the Sabres got even slimmer with the loss in San Jose. The Sabres are a .500 team that for whatever reason cannot put together a season-saving multi-game winning streak to save their lives.
With his 20th goal of the 2016-17 campaign, Jack Eichel has become the first Buffalo Sabres player since Thomas Vanek to notch 20+ goals in each of his first two NHL seasons.
Eichel becomes just the sixth U.S. born player to have multiple 20 goal seasons.
Eichel joins exclusive company among six U.S. born NHLers with multiple 20 goal seasons by age 20:
Bob Carpenter (3), Jimmy Carson (3), Eddie Olczyk , Mike Modano, Patrick Kane
Jack Eichel.
Eichel becomes just the eighth player in Sabres franchise history to score 20+ goals in each of his first two seasons. Eichel joins Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Danny Gare, Christian Ruuttu, Ray Sheppard, Yuri Khmylev, and Thomas Vanek.
That's five goals in his past five games for Eichel and fourteen points in his past fifteen games.
In the time since his November 29 return from the high ankle sprain that sidelined him for 21 games, Eichel ranks eighth among all NHL skaters with 48 points (20G, 28A) and leads the league with 196 shots on goal.
Eichel leads the league in points (27) and assists (19) since the beginning of February.
Eichel has logged 33 points (12G, 21A) in his last 28 games, including 10 multi-point outings during that stretch. The Sabres are 12-2-0 this season (and 21-5-0 in his career) when Eichel has at least two points.
Eichel’s .98 point per game ranks him 12th in the NHL.
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