Final Score: 5-4 (OT) Sabres
Arrow up:
Jack Eichel The captain put the team on his back in this one after the forgettable overtime he had in Columbus the other night. Eichel used his speed, vision, and incredible skill set to contribute on 4 of the 5 goals scored, ending his night with 2 goals and 2 assists. The first assist came on a quick and accurate cross ice feed to Olofsson, while his second one was a product of his shot from the point directing to Miller who slid it across to Johansson for the game winner. His 1st goal was a beautifully placed shot just inside the glove side post of Kinkaid while the 2nd goal (video below) saw him go coast to coast with speed, dodging a defender and coming in against three Montreal defenders before releasing a quick shot on the ice that went 5 hole. Albeit a small sample size this year, it’s becoming clear that Eichel has continued to mature his game both on and off the ice, notably taking accountability for being a cause on the 4th goal for Montreal. He will flirt with a 100 point season this year if he continues to play at this level.Arrow Down:
The 3rd Line (Vesey – Mittelstadt – Rodrigues) Playing the least out of all the lines (5:40 at even strength) and getting dominated for the majority of that time, landed the 3rd line in the arrow down section. They were severely dominated by Montreal, having a CF% of 28.6% and looked like they were playing on their heels. Rodrigues was noticeably rusty and struggled with his linemates to generate offense at 5 on 5. I also thought that Mittelstadt looked slow at times which is concerning considering he is currently being sheltered with these 3rd line minutes. I’m not calling for him to go down to Rochester but if he continues to be ineffective then it may not be the worst idea so as to not derail his development which is increasingly showing signs that we all need to be patient with him. Vladimir Sobotka Basically non-existent through 4 games thus far, Sobotka continued to be invisible and avoid to even chip in a secondary assist while Skinner and Johansson play 4 on 5 for all intents and purposes. He just offers no upside at either end of the ice to justify the amount of playing time he’s getting and the 2nd line would improve by plugging just about anyone else there. It’s fair to wonder how long they’ll continue to go along with this experiment when someone like Rodrigues or Thompson would have a higher probability of success playing the right side there.Quick Hits:
- Olofsson pulled off the 1st line in the 3rd period and not on 1st PP Unit in OT
- Historicaly speaking, an uncharacteristic strong 2nd period
- The Jokiharju/Scandella pairing is solid
- Kreuger gets creative with his 1st PP Unit in Overtime
- Points in every single game this season
- How long can the Powerplay sustain this extreme efficiency?
- Will Even Strength scoring become more prevalent?
- Who will replace Sobotka on the 2nd Line and when?