Eichel gets five assists in Sabres win against Predators

NASHVILLE -- Jack Eichel had a NHL career-high five assists, Sam Reinhart scored a hat trick, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Nashville Predators 7-4 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
The Predators (50-17-11) lead the Central Division but saw their advantage cut to five points over the Winnipeg Jets, who defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Saturday. Each team has four games remaining.

WATCH: [All Sabres vs. Predators highlights]
"Not good at all," Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. "I thought we came out flat. The whole 60 minutes, we just never played up to our potential. It just wasn't good enough."
Buffalo defenseman Victor Antipin left on a stretcher in the second period after being hit by Nashville forward Scott Hartnell at 14:09. Hartnell received a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. The Sabres scored three goals on the ensuing power play to take a 6-4 lead. Eichel had an assist on all three and has 37 this season.
"It's tough to see Victor go down like that," Eichel said. "It's never easy to see somebody get injured. I think it was a good job by our team responding and putting it on the scoreboard where it counts. We took advantage of our power plays tonight, and I thought special teams was the difference."

Buffalo (25-41-12) was 4-for-9 on the power play.
Reinhart tied the game 4-4 at 15:04, and made it 5-4 when he got to the rebound of a shot by Ryan O'Reilly at 17:18.
"Going down 3-1 was never easy," Reinhart said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy coming back, but I don't think we changed anything from that point. They've got a lot of depth. They're going to get their looks so I like that we were able to stick with it and battle ourselves back."
Kyle Okposo extended the lead to 6-4 at 19:00 on a wrist shot from the slot. It was his second goal of the game and 13th of the season.

Reinhart completed his second career NHL hat trick at 8:17 of the third period on a shot from the slot to make it 7-4. He has 23 goals this season, tying his NHL high from 2015-16.
"To win in this building, it's hard," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "I know that the fan base, they get behind and provide energy for their team. Our guys stuck with it. They just stayed the course. I think when it was 3-1 there, they really dug in. It was a great response from our team. To say the least, I'm very, very happy right now."
Nick Bonino gave the Predators a 4-3 lead at 12:50 of the second period with his 12th goal.

Jason Pominville gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 43 seconds into the first period on a rebound, but the Predators scored three straight goals for a 3-1 lead.
"It's rewarding to put a couple goals up against a team that shut us out a few weeks ago, and one of the best teams in the League," Eichel said. "It was a good game from start to finish. We handled the stretches where they were playing in our zone, and I thought we used the momentum to our advantage."
P.K. Subban, on the power play at 2:59, tied it 1-1. Austin Watson (17:00) made it 2-1 and Kyle Turris extended the lead to 3-1 at 2:00 of the second period.
O'Reilly cut it to 3-2 with a power-play goal at 5:45, and Okposo tied it 3-3 at 7:20.

Goal of the game

Reinhart's goal at 15:04 of the second period

Save of the game

Chad Johnson's save on Kevin Fiala at 18:22 of the third period

Highlight of the game

Reinhart's goal at 8:17 of the third period.

They said it

"He's doing good. We haven't talked to our doctors so we'll know more [Sunday]. As far as I know he's doing well right now." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley on Victor Antipin
"I saw the guy reverse the puck. It wasn't late, I just tried to rub him out. His chin hit the glass. You see a guy laying there and your stomach gets all turned upside down. You see the stretcher out and all that stuff, it made it feel worse. It was an unfortunate play and you just hope [Antipin] is all right." -- Predators forward Scott Hartnell on his hit on Victor Antipin

Need to know

Eichel (21 years, 154 days) is the youngest player to get five points in a game for the Sabres since Pierre Turgeon (21 years, 139 days) on Jan. 14, 1991 at the Toronto Maple Leafs (2-3-5). … Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen had three assists in 28:05 of ice time. … Reinhart has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in the past 14 games. … Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson took one shift in the second period and did not return. There was no update. … Predators forward Eeli Tolvanen made his NHL debut and finished with 13:34 of ice time and two missed shots. … Subban's goal was his NHL career-high 16th. He scored 15 in 2014-15.

What's next

Sabres: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Predators: At the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; SUN, FS-TN, NHL.TV)