Hous Cleaning (Sabres)

Tough times demand tough talk and tough actions.

The Sabres are 5-11-4 and are skating on dull skate blades these days.

The Sabres are owners of a -25 goal differential and are in desperate need of secondary and tertiary scoring. Housley’s troops are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, winless in their last five and are 2-5-1 on home ice. If the Sabres were a slumping Major League Baseball squad, they would be burning their bats right about now in order to exorcise the demons that are haunting their offense.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will give the Sabres all they can handle tonight so they better be ready for a street fight.

Housley has played musical lines many times this season with his forwards and D pairs. His one go-to, constant forward duo has been the Evander Kane-Jack Eichel grouping. In 20 games played together, Kane-Eichel has created a combined 35 points while playing together. Kane enters tonight’s game against Columbus with 11 goals and 8 assists. Eichel has 5 goals and 11 assists. Kane has been hotter than a pistol for the past seven weeks while Eichel has had a few chilly moments in the same period of time. Eichel snapped an eight game goal drought when he scored in a 5-4 OT loss at Pittsburgh last week.

In an attempt to grab the undivided attention of his struggling team, rookie head coach Phil Housley has decided after twenty games to break up his top scoring line.

When the Sabres took the ice for Monday morning’s game day skate, Housley’s forwards were lined up in these trios:

Kane-O’Reilly-Reinhart Pouliot-Larsson-Okposo Girgensons-Eichel-Pominville Griffith-Criscuolo-Nolan

Is Housley sending a message to the face of the Sabres franchise?

"There's no third line. I don't think Eichel is being demoted. I think he's such a terrific player you can put anybody on his wings," Housley said to the club’s website after Monday’s game day skate.

"I just tried to look back at what the chemistry some of the players had before," Housley said. "We just tried to get new combinations to give them a fresh start tonight. Obviously we haven't generated enough so we had to make a change….

Caveat: Hockey line changes are as good as the dry erase board they are written in. All roster changes are temporary and are subject to change without prior warning.

A point to consider is that Eichel has had success playing with Girgensons and Pominville. This new trio isn’t exactly a panic move by a first year head coach. Housley knows that Eichel can distribute the puck and he can wire it off the rush. I see this as an great opportunity for Eichel to be available for the one-timer on his off wing. Girgensons and Pominville can pass the puck with urgency and accuracy. In the past few weeks, Housley has implored Eichel to unsheath his weapon and shoot the puck with impunity.

Playing Eichel in a bottom six role has certainly caught the attention of the concerned fan base.

The onus is now on a Eichel to shake off his cob webs and to start lighting the lamp.

In 162 NHL games, Eichel has scored 53 goals and 76 assists for 129 points. The former Hobey Baker award winner scored 24 goals in each of his first two NHL seasons. Like many young NHL players, Eichel has to be reminded to shoot the puck from all angles rather than pass-first. Eichel has a heavy shot and a deceptively fast release. Eichel should be firing pucks from all angles and all areas on the ice. It’s time for Eichel to get selfish and fire early, often.

Housley is making a calculated risk by breaking up his most prolific scoring duo in order to kickstart other performers. Will it work straight away?

This move can go one of two ways. Eichel will respond by burying his head in his assignments and taking out his emotions on the enemy goalie. Or, he can treat the roster move like a personal affront and let it negatively affect his on ice performance.

In his last five games, Eichel has just 16 shots on goal. He’s -5 in his last five games and hasn’t been skating at a high pace. In 20 games, Eichel has only 62 shots on goal, 31 SOG behind his linemate Evander Kane. Eichel is struggling in the faceoff circle these days with his 40.8% FOW.

As Eichel goes, so go the Sabres.

Is it possible that Eichel felt it was his role to feed the red hot Kane rather than shoot him sled when he had open looks during shifts inside games?

While Eichel has been struggling, Kane has been playing lights-out hockey since puck drop on opening night. Is Eichel feeling the peer pressure of having to compete with Kane? Has Eichel fallen into a bad habit of feeding Kane rather than keeping the puck for the purposes of creating his own offense?

Since joining the Buffalo Sabres, Evander Kane now has scored 59 goals. What's remarkable is that 49 of Kane's goals in a Sabres sweater have come at even strength.

Kane's goal against Carolina now gives him six points (4G, 2A) in his last six games.

Kane’s 11th goal of the season tied him for sixth-most in the NHL.

Over the last 2 seasons, Kane is tied for 9th in the NHL with 32 even strength goals

Evander Kane has scored 11 goals in his first 20 games played this season. It's Kane’s quickest start of his career, topping his mark of 10 goals in his first 22 games in 2011-12.

Since scoring his first goal of the 2016-17 season on December 3, 2016, Kane has scored 39 goals in his last 77 games.

Far and away, Kane is Buffalo's most prolific scorer since returning on November 9, 2016 from having four broken ribs. In his past 90 games played (70 last season, 20 this season), Kane leads the Sabres with 39 goals (32 5v5), 3 SHG, 5 GWG, 353 shots on goal, 133 PIMs.

**

Hey, Sabres fans.

Your blue line needs a massive infusion of skill, discipline and IQ.

The Arizona Coyotes are looking for an experienced, play making center to play in their top six group.

If you could trade center-winger Samson Reinhart for Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson, would you?

The Yotes need a skilled center. The Sabres need a top pair defenseman/PP QB.

Reinhart, 22, is a pending RFA and is looking for a long term contract extension.

OEL, 26, will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season. OEL is a $5.5M AAV.

OEL will hit the lottery when he is an unrestricted free agent in July 2019, the same summer that LA Kings D wizard Drew Doughty becomes UFA.

One wonders if Ekman-Larsson wants to change his mailing address now?

Ekman-Larsson may well be at the bottom of the hope jar. He's been a loyal Coyote star for the past eight seasons. He's endured so much losing and rebuilding that he may be throwing in the towel on raising a Stanley Cup in Arizona.

Last season, amid the losing on the ice, Ekman-Larsson dealt with tragedy off the ice and away from the rink. Ekman-Larsson’s mother died of cancer in March 2017 after courageous 10-year battle.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t think about hockey at all last year,… the Coyotes defender told media in Toronto on Monday morning.

“That was a difficult year, and I don’t think I’ll ever have to go through something like that again. Hopefully not. I learned a lot about myself and my family and me as a hockey player.…

Two weeks ago, OEL trade chatter started percolating. Desert Dogs GM John Chayka issues a statement denying trade talks regarding his star defensemen.

The Coyotes have been under the media microscope today because they face the Leafs tonight. The Leafs may be a landing spot for OEL. Bob McKenzie intimated at a potential William Nylander for OEL deal.

I'm sending my pitch to Chayka.

I would trade the the crafty Reinhart, the 2015 second overall pick, in exchange for a veteran, top pair, 40-point, left shot D.

In 20 games played this season, Reinhart has popped in 3 goals and 5 assists for points. Reinhart is just two points away from hitting the century club in the NHL. In 187 career games, Reinhart has scored 43 goals and 55 assists for 98 points.

In the short term, Reinhart can play some third line center. He's been finding success by playing first and second line wing. In the long run, Reinhart will not be able to unseat Jack Eichel as the #1 center in Buffalo. Eichel signed an 8-year, $80 million contract extension in September. Reinhart will also have a difficult time beating out Ryan O'Reilly as Buffalo's #2 pivot. ROR is in the second season of his seven-year, $52.5 million contract.

The Sabres have have center depth in their ranks with veteran Zemgus Girgensons, Evan Rodrigues, prospects Rasmus Asplund, and Sean Malone.

Moving Reinhart now for a proven, reliable veteran puck transporter like Oliver Ekman-Larsson may be the type of seismic roster shift that GM Jason Botterill needs to execute to purge the losing culture that seems to be plaguing the team he inherited from Tim Murray. Botterill needs to make a roster move to get his team once and for all on the winning way.

Before you poo-poo the Reinhart for OEL trade discussion, rewind back to January 2015. While a power trio for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, Domi-Reinhart-Duclair combined to score 29 points in 7 games playing together Canada won the WJC gold medal with Domi-Reinhart-Duclair pulling their wagon.

Reinhart: 7 games, 5 goals and 6 assists Domi: 7 games, 5 goals and 5 assists Duclair: 7 games, 4 goals and 4 assists

You betcha.

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