Jack Eichel scored his 14th goal of the season, his fifth power play marker, and an assist to fuel the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night.
Chad Johnson made 26 saves for the Sabres (18-23-4), who have won four of five after a six-game losing streak.
Jamie McGinn had a goal, and Rasmus Ristolainen had two assists.
Ristolainen skated a career high 30:15 TOI. Ristolainen and his D partner Zach Bogosian made life miserable for Shane Doan and the Coyotes all night long. Ristolainen also delivered six hits. Bogosian was credited with three hits.
After the game, all Hell broke loose when Bogosian tuned up Anthony Duclair and Shane Doan rushed to his rookie teammate's defense.
When you touch one Sabre, you touch all Sabres. It's a band of the hand, pack mentality that bonds these Sabres together.
Bogosian wailing on Anthony Duclair after the final whistle #Sabres #Coyotes pic.twitter.com/4HjBfy8GTj
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) January 19, 2016Then, tempers flared when Swede Oliver Ekman-Larsson picked a fight that he could not win with Finn Rasmus Ristolainen. Per usual, Doan came creeping in and Bogosian and his brawlers dropped some five knuckle justice on the Desert Dogs.
After that - Doan, OEL and Ristolainen were in a separate scrum and then it went crazy again. #Sabres #Coyotes pic.twitter.com/Ny0MyUJKX0
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) January 19, 2016Old Time Hawkey, eh, Rhino?!!!
Eichel and Reinhart having a laugh after the game #Sabres pic.twitter.com/FxZPJ4rJAn
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) January 19, 2016**
Buffalo Draft logos https://t.co/50nm9K5yMF
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) January 19, 2016Jonathon Drouin will be traded as soon as Tampa Lightning GM Steve Yzerman can achieve maximum value for the third overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.
The Bolts demoted Drouin to AHL Syrcause two Saturdays ago. The next day, his agent revealed to media that he had requested a trade for Drouin in November. The Bolts refused to oblige the trade request and instead optioned him to their AHL farm team where today he waits for his ticket out of Tampa.
Drouin has now played seven games for the Crunch. He has scored two goals and has added a helper. Yzerman is in no hurry to trade Drouin because there is no pressure point to do so. The NHL trade deadline is Februray 29, and that leaves Yzerman multiple weeks to create a bidding war for the slick playmaking center.
Several NHL honchos attended the Syracuse-Rochester matinee in the Lilac City on Monday.
Chief among them was Montreal Canadiens AGM Rick Dudley, who also attended Saturday's Crunch game. Also in attendance were Buffalo, Minnesota, San Jose, Toronto, Columbus, Dallas, and Winnipeg. The Anaheim Ducks scouted Drouin on Saturday night.
The Habs are in desperate need of a playmaker who can help ignite their otherwise dreadful offense. Mike Therrien's team is 3-6-1 in it's last 10 games. They were trounced 5-2 by the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night, The Habs are a tale of two teams this season. They were in first place in the NHL standings on December 2 when they were 15 games over .500. Since December 2, Montreal are 11 games under .500.
The Habs cling perilously to a wild care berth by one single point in the Eastern conference standings.
Canadiens were 19-4-3 on 12/2.
With loss to Hawks, they are 4-15-1 since then #Panic
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) January 18, 2016The Habs' offense average 2.74 goals for per game while their defense is surrendering 2.54 goals per game. Montreal's power play units are ranked 15th in the NHL today.
Frankly, the Montreal Canadiens need help right now. Therrien and his staff are running out of duct tape and bondo to patch up all of the damage that the roster has sustained in the past two months.
Their margin for error has been razor thin ever since their all world goalie Carey Price has been injured. There is no timetable for Price's return to the lineup. Habs GM Marc Bergevin cannot allow his team to continue to fritter away points in the Eastern standings now that his club is on the back nine of the 2015-16 season.
If the Habs are going top make the playoff, they are going to have to make a drastic move, or two in order to buoy their listing ship.
I've heard that Bergevin wants Drouin so that he can play the left wing for Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller.
At what price Drouin to Montreal?
Bergevin would surely have to trade away top prospect forwards Nikita Scherbak (26th overall 2014), Michael McCarron (25th overall 2013) as well as a D Greg Pateryn.
Too much to trade away, you say?
The Habs are sliding down the standings and missing the playoffs is not an option in Montreal.
Yzerman has a captive audience and is open to any and all offers for Drouin.
Drouin's name will be trending across Canada when he and the Syracuse Crunch visit the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Syracuse will travel to Binghamton then on January 27, the Crunch travels to Rochester. Syracuse won't play another home game until January 29 against Hershey.
After Monday's 2-1 Crunch win over the Amerks, their head coach Rob Zettler told Syracuse.com that Drouin has been impressive in his seven game audition with The 'Cuse.
"He's been fitting in well. Off the ice, he's been great, doing a lot of stuff with his teammates,'' Crunch coach Rob Zettler said Monday morning. "The best part about Jo's game, he's really been aware of and working hard at defending down low, because he's playing center and he's getting a lot of minutes playing against some good guys. He's done a real good job of that. He's been very aware and detailed in d-zone. He's created a lot of opportunities offensively. We haven't cashed in on a lot of his offensive opportunities, but that will come.''