Jack Eichel made his much-anticipated return to Buffalo Thursday night this time dawning the grey and gold of a Vegas jersey.
Last night was about more than Jack, as the city rallied around their team, and Craig Anderson secured his 300th win in the NHL.
Let’s talk about Jack
While there has been an Eichel burnout with everything that’s transcribed the past year, we need to acknowledge what this game meant to fans. Eichel was the player fans thought would save them from the years of the tank, however, he left before yet another rebuild. There is another conversation to be had about that whole situation but that’s not for today.
Fans started the booing as the former first-rounder took his first stride onto the ice for warmups.
Things didn’t get any easier for Eichel as the crowd berated the 25-year-old anytime he touched the puck.
He finished the night with almost 18 minutes played, and only two shots to his name.
In a post-game press conference, Eichel voiced his frustrations with the crowd.
“That’s the loudest I’ve heard this place, ever… It only took 7 years and me leaving for them to get into the game,” said Eichel.
These comments came right after the game ended, in which he was berated all game by boos. However, this does not excuse how preposterous these quotes were. Fans sold out Eichel’s prospect scrimmage game, fans bought Eichel jerseys like no other, fans believed in him and this franchise until he wanted out, fans deserved better.
Eichel is behind us now, let’s focus on this Sabres team, and what happened to lead them to victory.
First Period
There was electricity tonight at the Key Bank Center, especially when number nine was on the ice for Vegas. Boos rang throughout the arena all night, for the former Sabres captain.
With all eyes on Eichel, fans seemed to forget this is a revenge game as well for Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch.
The Sabres came out flying, and that had to do with the fans in attendance. Buffalo outshot Vegas 7-0 to start the affair, which all culminated in the blue and gold striking first.
It only took eight minutes for Krebs to open the scoring against his former club. A silky pass by Vinne Hinostroza fed Krebs on the open backdoor for the Sabres to take a lead early on in the game.
Second Period
The second period began in Vegas’ favor, but Anderson stood tall keeping the game in Buffalo’s favor.
As this period went on, the players began to feel the energy at 1 Seymour H Knox III Plaza. This energy resulted in the first fight of the night between John Hayden and Ben Hutton.
Things did not calm down after this, as Casey Fitzgerald dropped his gloves. Squaring off against Keegan Kolesar, the Sabres’ d-man was able to hold his own and get a few shots in before being taken to the ice. Blatant punches by the Golden Knights forward on the ice after the altercation gave Buffalo a man advantage.
Third Period
The final frame saw Anderson stay strong, as Vegas began to find their game offensivly.
Former Sabre William Carrier was the Golden Knights’ best player in this game. With eight minutes left to play, his hard work paid off.
Ben Hutton lobbed a rainbow shot from the point and went bar down after nearly taking the head off of several players. Not much Anderson could have done, and just like that, the Sabres were on their heels in a tied game.
Fans have seen this team fall apart late in games for decades now, and this game looked like it was going to be one of those. However, this team did not quit.
The blue and gold found themselves with a powerplay late in the game. Throughout the game, their man-advantage saw several chances but were unable to find the back of the net. This team needed a goal and needed it badly.
With four minutes on the clock, Victor Olofsson channeled what seemed to be days gone by with a rocket snipe on the powerplay. A great pass by Kyle Okposo let the Swede rip a laser over the shoulder of Vegas netminder Laurent Brossoit. The arena exploded, the Sabres were in the lead.
Then with the net empty, Jack Eichel looked to tie the game for Vegas. A rimmed puck around the boards saw Eichel retrieve it. That’s until Alex Tuch plowed through the former Sabres captain and score the empty netter.
Poetic justice.
This game for Eichel started with boos and ended in cheers, as Tuch embraces the city of good neighbors.
Other notes
Craig Anderson becomes the 39th goalie all-time to reach the 300 win milestone and needs two wins to pass Mike Richter.
Mattias Samuelsson played an incredible game for Buffalo and was a standout on the national stage. He has developed nicely and will be a mainstay in the 716 for years to come.
Tuch and Krebs have grown immensely since their first game in a Sabres uniform. Krebs dominates with the puck and has grown the offense immediately.
This game united Sabres fans, both Terry and Kim Pegula are no longer public enemies one and two. Maybe Bills fans can now enjoy and watch Sabres games. Buffalo appeared to be proud to be fans of the blue and gold, and that is all thanks to Jack Eichel.
Finally, this team became a team tonight. Just over 12,000 Buffalonians packed into the Key Bank Center, and the Sabres rallied behind them. This is a game that fans and the team can rally around for games to come.
What’s next
The Sabres head to Hamilton, Ontario to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Heritage classic.
Eichel will make his return to Buffalo once a year for the rest of his career. Its up to the fans to show him what he is missing out on.
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