'Typical Eichs': Eichel's OT goal clinches win in Calgary

CALGARY -Jack Eichel looked as though he might play the full five minutes in overtime, if that's what it took.
The Sabres captain had missed on a pair of point-blank chances in the first period and rung the crossbar with a backhand shot in overtime when he gathered the puck in the neutral zone at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday, already a minute into a long shift.
Eichel faked a drop pass as if he was about to head to the bench, then began to glide toward the Calgary zone. He knew Flames defenseman Mark Giordano was at the end of his own long shift. When Giordano lunged to try and poke the puck away, he pounced.

Eichel found an extra gear to speed by the defender and roofed a shot over the shoulder of Flames goalie David Rittich, clinching a 4-3 win over the Flames.
"It looked like he just lulled them to sleep a little bit, and that's what makes him so special," Evan Rodrigues said. "He takes one drive and he's by a guy. Obviously, he's got a lethal shot too, so that's just typical Eichs."

The moment signified a weight lifted both for Eichel and the Sabres as a whole. The team was coming off a 7-2 loss in Edmonton on Monday, its third in a row. Eichel hadn't found the back of the net in three games since returning from an upper-body injury.
Neither Eichel nor his teammates seemed deterred at any point in the back-and-forth affair, despite there being several moments that could have turned the game in Calgary's favor.
The Flames opened the scoring on a Johnny Gaudreau goal with half a second remaining in the first period. The Sabres answered with Rodrigues' second goal in as many games in the second. Matthew Tkachuk gave the Flames a lead at 6:49 in the third; Rasmus Dahlin and Jake McCabe scored to give the Sabres their own lead within the next five minutes.

When the Flames tied the game again on a Noah Hanifin goal 38 seconds later, the Sabres fought long enough for Eichel to finish the job. In each instance, their responses were a departure from the Edmonton game, when Rodrigues said it felt like they were deflated by goals against.
"I said it last game, sometimes those games make you come together even more," Rodrigues said. "I think it kind of showed today. We battled throughout the whole game. We go down a couple times, they get a [tie goal] late and we stuck with it.
"The bench was as positive as it's been probably all year. It was a tough one on Monday, but I think we kind of learned a lesson from it and it showed today."
Eichel echoed Rodrigues' comments, describing the Sabres' bench in a manner reminiscent of their early-season attitude, when comebacks seemed like all but a guarantee.
"It was a positive bench all night," he said. "Through the adversity, through the ups and downs, everyone was staying up. We really had the mindset that we were going to win no matter what. When that's going down the bench and the whole team feels that way, it's a good feeling."
The Flames entered the night atop the Western Conference standings; their average of 3.68 goals per game ranked second in the NHL. They were 13-1-1 in games they led after the first period.
The Sabres eliminated the checking errors that hampered them against the Oilers and benefitted from a 30-save performance by Linus Ullmark.
"I think we just played to what our standard is," Rodrigues said. "I think we got away from it a little bit the last month or so, but I think that's the type of game we have to play. We have to go defense first, get on top of guys and our reloads were critical. I think we did that. That's the way we're going to have to play to win games."
It all set the stage for Eichel, whose goal was a long time coming.
"You put a lot of pressure on yourself, you want to be a difference maker every night," he said. "When things aren't going well, you want to be one of the guys to make a difference. I think that's when you start gripping your stick and start thinking about it a little too much.
"Hopefully that goal can get me going again. It's just what I needed."

Rodrigues nets another

Rodrigues' second goal in as many games came on a breakaway in the second period, which was made possible after Casey Mittelstadt stole the puck from Sean Monahan in the Buffalo zone. Mittelstadt hit Rodrigues with a quick outlet pass, and Rodrigues let his preparation do the work from there.

"We had a pre-scout and it looked like a lot of shootouts and breakaways, any time there was a deke he spread his legs open pretty good," he said. "I just tried to pull it and get it five-hole as quick as possible."

Dahlin makes history

Dahlin's goal extended his point streak to five games, matching the longest such run by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history according to NHL PR. The others to accomplish the feat: Aaron Ekblad, Phil Housley and Bobby Orr, who did it twice.
Check out Tuesday's practice report to revisit Dahlin's outing in Edmonton, which Housley said was his best of the season.

Call the cops

Ullmark made the save of the night to keep the score 1-0 during the first minute of the second period, after he had the puck stolen behind the net. A couple quick passes had Michael Frolik staring down an open net, but Ullmark extended just in time to snag his shot out of mid-air.

"[He made] some sick saves today," Dahlin said. "It's good to have him."

Up next

The Sabres conclude their road trip in Vancouver on Friday. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 9:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night pregame show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 10.