Gilbert Perreault is the greatest player in the storied history of the Buffalo Sabres.
Perreault was a one man breakout artist. He terrorized enemy forwards and D alike with his trademark end-to-end rushes with the puck on his stick.
"Bert" wasn't the fastest skater on the ice, however, he used his hockey god given vision and creativity to make grown men miss him as he would routinely gallop 190-200 feet down the ice with impunity to attack the enemy net. Once there, he would make the opposing goalie look like a bar leaguer when he would finish the play with panache and sophistication.
It's been 30 years since Perreault retired from the Sabres and the NHL. There will never be another "Bert", however, there is a nineteen year old rock star named Jack Eichel whose sick puck skills and slalom missions through all three zones of enemy territory are conjuring memories of the greatest goal scorer in Sabres history, #11.
Perreault seemingly made it look easy. He slowed the game down when he took possession of the puck. He would catch opponents puck-watching and would leave them in his dust and he sprinted by.
Jack Eichel channeled his inner Perreault on Sunday when he ripped through all three zones and then victimized Colorado Avalanche D Tyson Barrie AND goalie Semyon Varlamov's five hole with his trademark snapper. The replay showed that used his superior hockey IQ Eichel to set up the retreating Barrie and then used him to screen and take away the eyes of Varlamov.
Eichel scored his 17th goal of the season, unassisted, just 2:02 into the first period of the Valentine's Day matinee.
All things old are new again in Buffalo.
Fellow rookie Samson Reinhart scored his 17th a goal and an assist to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-1 against the Colorado.
I love how Reinhart is seemingly telling Eichel: "Anything you can do, I can do better".
The more I see of Reinhart, the more I say that he reminds me of former Sabres great and hockey hall of famer Dale Hawerchuk. They eyes, hockey IQ, skills, movement anticipation and playmaking abilities are eerily similar to Hawerchuk's skill suite. More on that later.
Eichel and Reinhart trail only Dylan Larkin and Artemi Panarin by one goal in the NHL rookie goal scoring race.
Eichel (17) and Reinhart (17) are on pace to become the second pair of rookies in Sabres history to each record 20 goals in the same season. The first pair was Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) in 1974-75.
On Sunday, Buffalo led 2-0 within the first five minutes and held a 3-0 advantage at the end of the first period.
Reinhart set up Evander Kane's 16th goal of the season. Kane has 8 goals in his last 13 games.
Varlamov was pulled by a disgusted Patrick Roy and was replaced by Calvin Pickard. Varlamov did not make any saves. Pickard made 17.
Ryan O'Reilly chipped in two assists against his former employer. ROR now has 14 assists in his last 16 games.
Robin Lehner rebounded from two wonky starts in a row to lead the victory over the Avs. The Big Swede made 34 saves on 35 shots that he faced (.977 save %).
๏ญ
Reinhart is now tied for the most goals on the team with O'Reill and Eichel. Kane is one off their pace.
The Sabres (23-28-6) won their second straight game and their first against Colorado in 11 games. The Avalanche (29-26-4) lost for the first time in three games and have lost five of the past seven.
Marcus Foligno scored his seventh goal of the season into an empty net with 1:50 left in the game to cap the scoring.
79 Goals and Counting From Tim Murray Acquisitions: ROR: 17Gs Eichel: 17Gs Reinhart: 17Gs Kane: 16Gs McGinn: 12Gs
Freddy Andersen (12-8-6, 2.30 GAA and .917 save %) was forced to take the crease after Gibson left the game. Andersen earned the OT win in Chicago.
Here we go again.
Gibson injured in the line of duty thus causing organizational panic inside the Ducks family.
Anaheim will likely recall Anton Khudobin, who has been buried in AHL Ontario after his soft start to the NHL season. Khudobin is 3-3 with a 2.70 GAA and .907 save %. Khudobin, 29, is a pending UFA and is earning $2,250,000 this season. His contract sucks and his play has been none better.
After the win in Chicago on Saturday night, Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau spoke about John Gibson and Frederik Andersen.
"(Freddie) did everything he was supposed to do. The one puck that went in went off one of our guy's knees, so there was nothing he could do. I thought Gibby was really good, but the problem is he got hurt a little bit and came out"
Boudreau had no update on Gibson (upper-body injury) after the game.
Do the Ducks really want to hand the keys to their car to such a crappy driver?
After an abysmal start to their season, the Ducks are 8-1-1 in their last ten games. They are now in sixth place in the Western Conference with 62 points, just one behind the San Jose Sharks (6-2-2 last ten games) and 7 points behind the LA Kings (5-5).
Bruce Boudreau and the Ducks can ill-afford to have their goaltending fail again this late in the season. The Ducks are not satisfied with a wild card berth. They now have their sights set on the Pacific Division title.
Gibson will be re-evaluated on Sunday. If he cannot answer the bell, Freddy Andersen will get the net on Monday in Calgary.
I had heard on Friday night at the Sabres-Habs game in Buffalo that the Ducks were looking to add not only a top six forward but a reliable backup goalie at the NHL trade deadline on February 29.
Ducks AGM Dave Baseggio braved the arctic wind chills and lake effect snow to watch Chad Johnson beat Montreal 6-4. Johnson, a pending UFA , is 13-14-3 this season with a 2.50 GAA and .917 save %. He's made 830 saves in 32 games played. Johnson has made the ridiculous look sublime and the sublime look ridiculous this season. He and rookie Linus Ullmark platooned in the Buffalo net while Robin Lehner recovered from his high ankle sprain that sidelined him for 13 weeks between October and mid-January. The Sabres will be leaning on a Lehner-Ullamark tandem next season.
Sabres GM Tim Murray will be moving out the majority of his players on expiring contract (except Jamie McGinn). The Ducks would be wise to trade Cam Fowler to Buffalo in exchange for Chad Johnson and Brian Gionta or Tyler Ennis, plus a second round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. Gionta has a year remaining in his Buffalo contract, however, he may be looking to take on last legitimate run at Lord Stanley's Cup. Gionta, 37, would add leadership, hockey IQ, speed, playmaking, penalty killing, and goal scoring to a veteran Ducks lineup that is looking for an infusion of all of the above. Gionta has been the captain of eth Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres and knows a thing or two about kicking up his intensity level a notch or three during the NHL playoffs.
Tyler Ennis has missed the past 19 games with an upper body injury. He hasn't practiced in weeks, however, Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said Saturday that the jitter-bugging forward is progressing nicely in his injury recovery. When healthy, Ennis can add scoring and playmaking up and down the lineup. Ennis thrives at even strength, PP and PK.
Sabres GM Tim Murray has coveted Fowler since last summer. Murray needs to shore up his D corps. He needs a veteran, left handed top four D who can shut down the other team's top six forwards, distribute the puck and score. Fowler is a beast at even strength, on PP and PK.
The Ducks are heavy on D and are in need of scoring help.
Bob Murray and the Ducks have had their hearts broken in playoff seasons past due to injuries to Gibson and Andersen. Murray would be wise to immediately invest in a bona fide, reliable veteran backup tender like Johnson. Another premature first round playoff ouster could spell the end of the Murray-Boudreau Era in Anaheim.
Join the Discussion:
ยป