Eichel thriving in 1st playoff experience for Golden Knights
Forward contributing against Jets after not qualifying for postseason in 1st 7 NHL seasons
The maturation process for any player can be put into overdrive with exposure to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Vegas Golden Knights forward is Exhibit A.
Eichel was a solid player for the Golden Knights during the regular season with 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists) in 67 games.
He is becoming a difference-maker in the Western Conference First Round against the Winnipeg Jets with Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-RM) and the Golden Knights on the brink of advancing to the second round with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
"You start to understand what playoff hockey is, right?" Eichel said recently. "You know, there's obviously more emotion in every game and there's a lot of momentum swings. Just trying to manage your emotions, continue to play your game, stick with it no matter what happens.
"There's sort of a simplicity to it. And I think you get rewarded for that."
RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Jets series coverage]
It has been a bit of a crash course for Eichel.
He was virtually non-existent in a 5-1 loss in Game 1, when he was minus-3. He was better in Game 2, scoring a goal and being more responsible defensively in a 5-2 win.
Eichel was dominant in Game 3, scoring two power-play goals and finishing with three points in a 5-4 victory in double overtime that turned the tenor of the series. He was the first Golden Knights player with multiple power-play goals in a playoff game.
He did not have a point in Game 4, a 4-2 victory. But he was the most dominant forward on the ice, drew two penalties and presented a matchup problem for the Jets.
"They are targeting him," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "That's playoff hockey. There are guys' numbers that are circled on the board a little bit more than others in the playoffs.
"... We have to limit him, try to push him out of the series, whatever your term is. Make it tough on him, make him earn his space. He is one of those guys."
Eichel wasn't sure he would ever be one of those guys in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
His journey here has been circuitous at best, filled with pain and disappointments he never could have imagined when he was selected No. 2 by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Initially, he thought success would be his birthright in the NHL, as it had been at every other stop of his career; from the United States National Team Development Program, to the United States at the World Junior Championships, to Boston University.
Instead, he has waited eight seasons to play in the postseason, missing six straight times with the struggling Sabres, who could not turn the final corner in their rebuild. He also missed in his first season with the Golden Knights, who failed to make the playoffs after acquiring Eichel in a blockbuster trade on Nov. 4, 2021 while he was sidelined with a back injury that eventually required experimental surgery.
It was the first time Vegas missed the playoffs in its five NHL seasons.
The cruelty of the wait has been erased for Eichel in his first go-around in the NHL postseason. He refuses to take any of it for granted.
"These are the moments you dream of as a kid," Eichel said. "Playing in the playoffs and having something on the line.
"It's about doing the little things right, moving your feet, backchecking, little things. They go along way this time of year. It's important to do those things because I think they add up at the end of the game."
Not every player gets that right away. The League is littered with really good regular-season players who either never found traction in the postseason or needed multiple exposures to find their footing.
"Some enjoy the moment and rise up and the puck follows them a little bit," Cassidy said. "Sometimes other guys want to do that and the puck is not following them and they press and then that works against them. I think when you press and try to force plays in the playoffs when teams are checking better, that's when you get in trouble.
"You have to let it play out. Keep grinding away and play your game and help the team win and stick to whatever you do well and eventually if you're going along well enough to keep playing then you'll have your opportunity."
Eichel is doing the things he does well, using his superior vision and skating to break down defenses and driving the net to cause chaos.
The 26-year-old is now doing it in a more focused, more consistent manner.
"He does the same thing every single game, that's why he's such an elite player," Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "The funny thing is with Jack, is he is such a high-end offensive guy. I don't think people give him enough credit for how well he uses his size (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) and how physical he is out there.
"He does a lot of things a lot of people don't notice, especially at this time of the year. That size and that strength is tough to handle."
Especially when it is applied with focus and tenacity.
