Dan Bylsma benched Jack Eichel on Tuesday night after the super sophomore turned the puck over in the neutral zone which allowed Philadelphia top create a high percentage scoring chance on Robin Lehner. Eichel tried and failed at completing a high risk one-on-three play in the neutral zone.
Bylsma doesn't want to thwart Eichel's creativity and virtuosity. Bylsma's message to Eichel via the benching was and will continue to be:
Make better decisions and manage the puck more carefully.
"I implore Jack that he needs to have five turnovers a game," Bylsma said. "If he's not having a turnover, then he's not trying to do the right thing. There's a time and place and a situation for those attempts that was not one of them.
"Jack's a star player, no question. But he's a young player as well. He's got to learn that. That's a process we're going through. Did he miss a few shifts after that play? He did."
Eichel responded to his benching like a veteran player would in that ticklish situation. Eichel extended his NHL-leading 11 game scoring streak with scoring two goals and chipping in an assist.
"I liked his (Jack's) response," Bylsma said. "He understood it. He understood why. I thought he played pretty inspired and passionate after that point."
Jack Eichel Friday's game in Columbus on a career-best 11-game point streak (5 goals, 11 assists). It’s the longest active streak by a Buffalo Sabres player since Tim Connolly tallied scored in 16 straight from December 23, 2009 to January 25, 2010.
With a point Friday night, Eichel would tie Minnesota's Mikael Granlund’s 12-game streak (January 12 to February 4) for the longest point streak in the NHL this season.
In the time since Eichel's November 29 return from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for 21 games, Eichel is tied for eighth among all NHL skaters with 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) and leads the entire NHL with 188 shots on goal.
Eichel leads the league in points (24) and assists (17) since the beginning of February.
Eichel has scored 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in his last 25 games, including nine multi-point performances during that stretch.
The Sabres are 11-2-0 this season (and 20-5-0 in his career) when he has at least two points.
Eichel’s .98 points per game rank him 13th among all players with at least 20 games played this season.