A Little Ditty About Jack & Samson https://t.co/ubReFsAilj pic.twitter.com/EQBCrrkBaD
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) March 13, 2016
Dan Bylsma has a percolating dilemma on his hands.
Injured warrior Ryan O'Reilly may well be making his return to practice on Monday.
ROR has missed the last eleven games with a right foot injury that he suffered in Buffalo's 4-0 shutout win in Columbus on February 19. O'Reilly had been tricking around the rink with a walking boot on his right foot for three weeks, however, that changed on Friday when he skated for ninety minutes in a non-contact sweater. The Factor emerged unscathed from his first skate in three weeks. He will skate again on Monday.
Let's assume O'Reilly, Buffalo's leading scorer (49 points) is given the green light to return to game action on Wednesday night when Montreal comes a callin'.
What then?
Which line mates will ROR be playing with?
O'Reilly has 19 goals this season. Ditto Samson Reinhart and Evander Kane.
In O'Reilly's absence, Eichel has stolen the team goal scoring mantle away from ROR. Jack potted numbers 21 and 22 on Saturday afternoon. At his current scoring pace, he may well end up with 30 goals this season. Eichel now trails ROR by only one point for the team scoring lead.
Bylsma, the first year head coach of the Buffalo Sabres must decide whether to tempt fate and break up his potent first line of Evander Kane, Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart. Or. Will Bylsma opt to find new flanks for ROR and keep his Wonder Twins intact with the veteran power forward Kane.
The great conundrum for Bylsma is that in the past seven games as battery mates, the trio of Kane-Eichel-Reinhart has created 20 points.
You nay ask yourself: “Is Bylsma crazy enough to disrupt a line that is producing nearly three points per game since coming together two and a half weeks ago…?
Only Bylsma has the answer to that question.
Until his injury, the Reinhart -O’Reilly duo has been a constand production source for the Sabres this season. O'Reilly became an NHL All Star flr the first time in his six year NHL career with Reinhart riding shotgun for him. Numbers 23 and 90 have experienced some serious, undeniable success together this season.
Bylsma said after Saturday's dramatic OT win against Carolina that he has given thought to O'Reilly's return to the starting lineup and the ensuing decision that he will have to make.
“I’ve thought it about a little bit,… Bylsma said.
“It does have an interesting decision to make. Sam’s played well with both of them, and I do see Sam starting to have some good chemistry being a wing man for Jack.
“They’ve started to generate chances in the last few games maybe in a way they haven’t in the previous games, jelling and using their speed together and being a factor as a unit together. This is probably the biggest example of that coming to fruition.…
Eichel was mired in a seven game goal scoring slump from February 16 until March 1. However, in his last six game skating with Reinhart and Kane, Eichel has erupted for five goals.
Chemistry is a beautiful thing.
Eichel sang Reinhart's praises after he closed the show with a jaw dropping, buzzer beating, “did you see that?!… overtime game winning goal.
The grotesquely talented twin 2014 and 2015 second overall picks are right now showing the hockey world what they are made of. Sabres fans are intoxicated by their creativity, drive, passion, desire and sheer entertainment value. Sabres fans that frequent this space and my @SabresBuzz Twitter feed are demanding that Bylsma leave 9-15-23 alone.
In other words:
Dan, if it ain't broke, don't you dare break it!
What we have been watching for the past seven games is the manifestation of the vision to have Eichel-Reinhart blossom into one of the most noteworthy scoring duos in the NHL.
They are two totally different personalities with similar yet very different skill sets.
Apart, they are respected offense players.
Together, they form a lethal offensive weapon.
Frankly, I'm enjoying watching Eichel-Reinhart too much right now. Bylsma better keep them together.
Eichel propped his buddy Reinhart on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve built a really good relationship off the ice,… Eichel said. “We room together on the road. We spend a lot of time together, so just going through experiences with him and all the good times we had this year, we’ve become really, really close. He’s a great friend, and it’s a great relationship to have.…
Sounds like Jack and the fans are all on the same page.
“He’s one of my closer buddies, and I think that really helps translate on the ice,… Eichel said. “We know each other so well. We know where each other will be. I think we’ve just tried to keep things simple.
“Kaner’s a good complement to us. He’s physical, he finishes his checks. He gets in and he gets a lot of loose pucks. Me and Samson, we try to create stuff, move it. He’s so smart, it’s really easy to play with him.…
Like I said, it's a great headache for Bylsma to have. There are only eleven games remaining in the regular season and Bylsma can wait and see if the 9-15-23 line cools off. If they do, then he can move Reinhart back with ROR. However, if the line continues to create an average of 2.85 points per game, then Bylsma should let it ride.
Assuming ROR gets medical clearance and can play on Wednesday night, here are my line combos that I would employ in the Montreal game:
Kane-Eichel-Reinhart Foligno-O'Reilly-Girgensons Moulson-Larsson-Gionta CO'Reilly-Legwand-Deslauriers
In my opinion, if Bylsma honors these trios, he will have four 20 goal scorers, not just one, on his roster by this time next Sunday.
I'm interested to hear your takes and your line combos.
Thanks for reading.