BUFFALO — It was the sparkle on an otherwise gloomy evening, a sliver of hope for the long-suffering fans in these parts.
And probably the truest measure of that fine moment, Jack Eichel’s first NHL goal, was that his coach thought initially the kid had messed up.
“I thought he’d waited too long,” said Buffalo head coach Dan Bylsma. “The goalie (Craig Anderson) did have time to get across the net and get set.
“But then. . .bar down.”
For the 49 minutes of competition before that moment, the first 49 minutes of an NHL season that Sabres fans desperately hope will end their team’s two-year reign as the worst club in the league, it was gloomy indeed for Bylsma’s club. The Sabres fell behind early on the first shot of the game when heralded trade acquisition Ryan O’Reilly didn’t cover his man, lost new goaltender Robin Lehner partway through the game to a leg injury that may sideline him for a while and for two periods played a brand of hockey that left local patrons sitting in stunned silence.
“We weren’t working hard enough to get pucks,” said winger Evander Kane. “We have to be harder to play against than that.”
The Sabres, against a sturdy Ottawa squad that won 23 of its final 31 to make the playoffs last season, were dreadful, and Eichel wasn’t excluded from that overall description.
“He was a lot like our team in general,” said Bylsma. “We didn’t see him skate for two periods.”
But midway through the third, with Ottawa having built a 2-0 lead, the 18-year-old Boston University one-and-done was flying, and his first NHL score at 9:11 of the third on a feed from Marcus Foligno was a beauty, a goal-scorer’s goal on a power play.
“It’s great to see that kind of goalscoring skill,” said Foligno, part of a Buffalo team that scored only 161 times last year.
Eichel was just inside the left circle when he took the pass, measured his shot, and then whistled it over Anderson’s left shoulder, off the crossbar and in.
“It was a special moment I’ll never forget,” said Eichel, the youngest Sabre ever to score on opening night. “Today’s my dad’s birthday, and I had a lot of people in town for this game, so it was special to get one tonight.
“Of course, it’s tough to totally enjoy because we lost the game.”
An empty netter by Curtis Lazar after two goals from Kyle Turris did indeed give the Sens the 3-1 triumph, but it shouldn’t take away from what Eichel showed after those nervous two periods made it seem as though he was a little baffled by regular season NHL competition.
The goal was special, and then came a solo rush on which he used his speed and reach to dance around Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson for an excellent chance, and then another moment when he beat Lazar off the wall for a dangerous backhand.
All in all, there were glimpses of what makes him special, and what made him second to only Oilers centre Connor McDavid when it came to selections in last summer’s NHL draft.
“I don’t think I played my best game,” said Eichel. “I’ve got a lot to work on.”
He played all night with Kane, that power forward Buffalo picked up from Winnipeg last winter in an expensive trade, and it was Kane who nearly followed up on Eichel’s goal with another to seemingly tie the game. But, one night after Toronto’s Mike Babcock successfully exercised the first coach’s challenge in NHL history, Sens head coach Dave Cameron did the same, and Kane’s goal was wiped out because of an offside play initially missed by the officials.
“It’s a tough way to lose a goal,” said Kane, whose last NHL goal came Jan. 21 as a member of the Jets before he was shut down for the season because of shoulder surgery. “And to have one taken away from you that way is hard.”
Eichel, meanwhile, logged a heavy workload in his first NHL game, skating 21:58 while going through several different right wingers including Foligno, Sam Reinhart and Zemgus Girgensons. By the third, you could see his poise and confidence starting to come, and the dangle around Karlsson was the kind of game-breaking play of which he’s capable.
“Almost,” he smiled. “But almost wasn’t good enough.”
It was part of his beginning as a Sabre, and surely enough to demonstrate to fans they have a lot to look forward to. Like McDavid, he’ll face enormous physical challenges in his first NHL season, but Eichel, slightly bigger and thicker through the chest and legs, might be better equipped to handle that. We’ll see.
The comparisons, Jack vs. Mac, can now start in earnest, with both having played an NHL game. Eichel scored in a loss, while McDavid played 18:07 and didn’t score on two shots, also in a loss.
This is a league that needs more sparkle, more moments, and this pair of teenagers looks entirely capable of supplying many of them, even in their rookie seasons.
Eichel made the First Niagara Centre absolutely explode with noise when he found the net on opening night. More of that would be very welcome.
