When Evander Kane plays alongside Jack Eichel, they make it look easy. The sky is the limit in terms of inspiration and perspiration.
When Eichel plays on the third line with Johan Larsson and Jason Pominville, the game can be very mundane and predictable.
Lately, Kane has hit a concrete wall in terms of points production. The pending UFA has been virtually invisible from the Buffalo offense for the past three weeks.
Kane will play wherever Phil Housley tells him to play. Housley wanted to create more scoring from three solid lines. Earlier this month, Housley shook up the status quo when he moved Kane away from Eichel after Buffalo's 7-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars. After getting dusted by Dallas, Phil Housley threw down the gauntlet.
"Give Dallas credit, they came to work and we didn't," Housley said. "If we're not going to compete in our game in front of our own fans, which is very disappointing and quite embarrassing, we're going to compete tomorrow in practice."
Housley also called out his players for their incessant cheating and short cut taking. Housley accused some of his players of looking for their own points rather than supporting the defensive construct.
The next day, Housley aggressively skated his listless team. When the pucks were introduced to the practice, new line trios were unveiled.
Message delivered to the entire team.
Eichel was paired with Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons, while Kane was challenged to create more offense while skating with Johan Larsson and Jason Pominville.
The new trios paid dividends in the form of six of six points earned in three straight wins against Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Why did the Sabres have their best week of their ugly 2017-18 season on the road in western Canada? Because they got back to basics by rolling four lines and activating teh D to support the rush. The forwards covered high when the D slammed the walls and played aggressively in the offensive zone. The forwards and D did not cheat. They kept the play outside while denying entry to the middle of the ice. This resulted in fewer shot attempts on Robin Lehner.
Oh, by the way. The Sabres outscored their opponents by a combined 11-1 score. Kane didn't register one point on any of teh eleven goals scored in those three games.
Kane's loss proved to be Okposo's gain.
Okposo has recorded 4 goals and 10 assists in his last 14 games, including four multi-point games in his last eight contests.
Ah, yes. The Eichel Effect.
Rasmus Ristolainen has 3 goals and 10 assists in his last 13 games, dating back to December 29.
Ryan O’Reilly has recorded nine points 4 goals and 5 assists in his last nine games.
Sam Reinhart has scored thee goals and four assists in his last six games.
Housley's experimentation with his trios created consistent offense from guys who were lacking in consistency.
While others have thrived with their roles in the new line assignments, Kane has struggled.
Thanks, Hockey-Reference
Kane never met a shot he didn't like. He shoots early. He shoots often. He shoots from every angle and distance on the ice.
Kane leads the Sabres with a 190 shots on goal in 50 games, or, 3.8 SOG per game
In the past few weeks, Kane has fallen into a bad habit. The guy who loves to loves to shoot the puck is over-passing it. That's not like Evander to be so modest and humble with the puck on his twig. Kane didn't record a shot on goal against the Devils on Tuesday night. The only other game that he hung a bagel in the shots on goal column this season was against New Jesrey on December 29.
In the ten game span since January 5 and the Devils loss on Tuesday night, Kane has landed only 24 shots on goal. That's a 2.4 shots on goal per game average. Kane landed 7 shots on Henrik Lundqvist on January 18. That nets down to 17 shots on goal in the other 9 games. What's up with that un-Evander like shot logic?
Remember when Kane popped in 12 goals in his first 21 games of the season? It felt like Kane would pot 40 goals without even breaking a sweat playing with his buddy Eichel.
Did you know that Kane has scored only four goals in his last 29 games played? Since December 22, Kane has lit the lamp just one time.
Kane is healthy and he has been getting his chances. However, he's just not finishing them.
With teh NHL trade deadline approaching on February 26 and dignitaries from many NHL teams scouting Kane live in person, he has been very quiet the past few weeks.
The morning after losing 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils, Housley decided to move Kane back to Eichel's left wing position in an attempt to kick start the slumping power forward's offensive production. The Sabres won three straight games, two by shutout, on last week's western roadie. Kane played on the third line in all three wins. The Sabres then laid an egg on home ice Tuesday night. Here comes Eichel to Kane's rescue. It's like Eichel is the set of jumper cables that jumps the weak batteries of the individual players on his team.
Again.
"I think they had good chemistry early," Sabres coach Phil Housley told media at his post practice presser. "It was just a change to maybe spark Evander a little bit, reunite those guys. I think we're going to need 5-on-5 scoring moving ahead here, especially playing some tight teams, some good checking teams."
Kane is well aware of his offensive deficiencies in the past three weeks. He's trying to block out the negatvity and focus on the tasks at hand.
"Confidence obviously helps, especially when things are going in, you're feeling good about things, when it's not, you've got to keep your confidence because when that goes it can really prolong and other parts can really start to slip," Kane said. "So, for me, I'm staying confident. I know what I can do and eventually it will turn."
Evander Kane has one goal since Dec. 22nd. After practice he was asked how he's dealing with the slump and if he has thought about the Feb. 26th trade deadline #Sabres @WKBW pic.twitter.com/nRQZWaC8uj
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 31, 2018
"I haven't created much offensively the last little bit, and when I have they haven't gone in or I hit some bars," Kane . "Obviously, it's not fun when you're not producing, but it's part of the long year."
Kane was asked if he is preoccupied by his pre-trade deadline slump.
"Two totally different things," Kane said. "I think all I can focus on is each day and each and every game and trying to be the best player I can be."
Earlier this month, Kane and his teammate Justin Falk were involved in a dust up at practice. Falk vented on Kane and screamed at him:
"Shut the (rhymes with puck) up, you selfish (rhymes with puck)!"
Coaches quickly arrived on the scene to restore order and to prevent escalation.
Kane was called out. Later, he downplayed it. Tempers flare, pressure gauges pop. Smack gets spewed. Nothing to see here. Or is there something to see here. Watch Falk's response below. The journeyman blue liner didn't appear to be in any hurry to apologize to Kane.
Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Sabres. For your convenience, the full interviews with Kane and Falk are attached #Sabres @WKBW https://t.co/SRKxLBZKea pic.twitter.com/hcPVZ89rgN
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 10, 2018
That was on January 10. Three weeks ago today. On January 11, the Sabres defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets on home ice. Then, the NHL-mandated hiatus kicked in for teh Sabres and they were idle from January 12 until January 17. The Sabres lost 4-3 to the NY Rangers on January 12. Then, they were disrespected by Dallas. The three game western roadie could not have come at a better time.
Is it a coincidence that Kane's level of play and points production have declined since his hostile interaction with Falk?
Perhaps Jack Eichel can get the best out of Evander Kane yet again.