Eichel emerges as first-time all-star with Sabres

EDMONTON -- Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel is set to play in his first NHL All-Star Game, at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVA Sports), and it's not hard to see why.
Including his four-point game in a 5-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, Eichel has 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 16 games since Dec. 15, tied with Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (11 goals, 14 assists) for most points in the League during that span.

"For me, it's my first one and it's a huge honor and I'm excited for it," said Eichel, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, after he had a goal and three assists against the Oilers. "I'll have my family down there and it'll be cool. It's awesome to be playing well as a group right now, having confidence and enjoying ourselves."
Eichel, 21, missed the first 21 games of last season because of an ankle injury sustained in the Sabres' final practice before the start of the regular season.
This season he's played in all 48 games and has 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists), including 14 (five goals, nine assists) during a seven-game point streak he'll take into Buffalo's game at the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SNP, NHL.TV), their final game before the All-Star break.
"Last year being hurt at the start of the year made a difference," Sabres forward Ryan O'Reilly said. "And now being healthy this year and seeing how he impacts the game, I mean, look at [Tuesday], getting four points. He's elite and he's better than so many of us. He works at it. He prepares. He works on his game constantly. He is an all-star, absolutely.
"There are a lot of things out there that I can't even dream of doing. He's just above and beyond and it's nice to see him get rewarded. It's definitely well-deserved."

Sabres coach Phil Housley said Eichel's attention to defense is paying off on the offensive end.
"Not even looking at the All-Star Game, just overall I think it's going to boost his confidence knowing that he can play a good, solid defensive game and let the game give what it gives him," Housley said. "He's not going out and trying to create things that aren't there and he's had to learn that playing good defense, that will lead to you having the puck on your stick and then you get the opportunity to play on offense.
"He's been terrific, creating scoring chances and creating for his linemates. He's been really tough to get off the puck down low. He can handle it and he creates his own space that way."
Housley said that for offensively gifted players, learning that patience and having that in-game discipline can be difficult. But Eichel's progress in these areas is evident.
"A lot of times you're just going to have to defend well," Housley said. "And when you have to defend and that's your job, well, then that's your job on that shift. You wait for the next shift or the next shift (for offense). If you start cheating the game, that's when things come back at you in the wrong way and you waste energy in the wrong way, and he's done a really good job of moving forward."
With his strong night against the Oilers, Eichel is on pace for 84 points, which would be a personal NHL-best; his previous high was 57 points in 61 games last season.
Oilers coach Todd McLellan, who also coached Eichel on Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey 2016, said before the game Tuesday that Eichel's elite package of abilities is something that opponents can't help but notice.

"He's a skilled player that can hurt you a lot of different ways," McLellan said. "For me, Jack, having had him for a month at the World Cup, he's a great kid and a tremendous player. He's got deceptive speed because he's got those long, loping strides. His legs might not be moving quite as fast but his body is really going so that speed is real deceptive.
"(He's got) a dangerous release, the one-timer and the ability to change the angle of a shot."
Eichel said that while he is looking forward to his first All-Star Weekend, there was one important item before that, which is trying to help the Sabres to their first three-game winning streak of the season in Vancouver on Thursday.
"The last two games were great and we just want to keep it going into this big test in Vancouver on Thursday," Eichel said.