'An awesome challenge' | Eichel looks ahead following reset

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel struck a tone of optimism when discussing the team's outlook following a second straight practice at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.
The Sabres are facing the prospect of playing 46 games in less than three months after having six contests postponed due to COVID-19. They practiced Wednesday with 14 skaters and three goaltenders while nine others remained on the COVID-related absence list. Coach Ralph Krueger also remained absent after announcing he had tested positive for the virus last Thursday.
Eichel said he had multiple conversations with Krueger, general manager Kevyn Adams, and teammates during the pause and expressed hope that the situation will make them stronger moving forward.

"I think that a situation like this has potential to bring us closer together as a group," Eichel said. "Weirdly enough, it could be a good thing if everyone gets back to 100 percent health and I think we can build off something like this."

The 2020-21 season had its quirks at the outset, from recurring opponents to a compressed 56-game schedule. Buffalo played to a .500 points percentage through its first 10 games following an abridge training camp that included no exhibition play.
Six postponements will require the Sabres to squeeze more games into even fewer days, though they will have the advantage of a two-week recharge to prepare.
"I always feel better the more I'm playing," Eichel said. "I mean, the more games we play, the more times on the ice, that's when I start to feel my best.
"I think it's going to be a great opportunity for us. I look at it as an awesome challenge. It's really a tight division with a lot of good hockey teams, and we're going to play them it seems like almost every night. It's going to be great. I think the more games the merrier."
Other players who spoke Wednesday echoed their captain.
"It's going to be a fun challenge for us," alternate captain Kyle Okposo said. "It's going to be something that we're not used to. It's something that is gonna be different, but we love to play, we love to compete. That's why we do what we do.
"So, sure, it's gonna be hard on us mentally, it's gonna be hard on the bodies, but I'm really looking forward to just playing games and seeing where we stack up in this division. It's a gauntlet in our division. We've got a lot of good teams. We've got eight good hockey teams and we're looking forward to moving up the standings and climbing the latter."
The Sabres are currently scheduled to play against the New York Islanders next Monday, though their two most recent postponements have not yet been rescheduled.
"I like the group of people that we have assembled and I like our team, too," Okposo said. "Nothing about this is going to be normal. To say that, 'Hey, this is going to happen because of it.' - We just have to try and grow as organically as we can. If the last two days are any indication on the ice, we've done a really good job of that. Guys are in really good spirits, guys are working hard and having a lot of fun.
"Everybody's just talking like normal. We're starting to get used to each other, we have a lot of new guys. And there's a lot of things you can't do that you would normally do. You can't get together away from the rink, you can't go get to know guys on a person level through this whole pandemic because of the protocols that are in place. So the more time that we spent together things are starting to happen more organically, like I said. To say that we're going to for sure come together after this, I don't know. I'm hoping so. It's going to be a great reset for our team and I think there's definitely positives to be had."