Eichel fell a game short of matching Perreault's Sabres-record point streak of 18 games, from 1971-72, when he missed Buffalo's 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday because of an upper-body injury. He returned to the lineup Saturday and had an assist when the Sabres defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 to extend his personal point streak to 18 games.
"I think you've got a lot of confidence right now -- I'm the benefactor of some really good hockey," Eichel said. "It's a full team effort here and just trying to contribute, work hard."
Eichel has 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists) in 36 games. He's on pace to surpass his career highs in goals (28) and points (82) set last season.
"No one should be surprised that he's taken the next step this year," Perreault said. "He's only 23. He's only getting started."
Perreault, the Sabres leader in goals (512), assists (814) and points (1,326), said it's all part of Eichel's evolution on his continuing path to greatness.
"It takes time," Perreault said. "I came into the League in 1970 and it was a while until our Sabres team made the Final in 1975. It takes four or five years. A lot of it has to do with the guys around him. They've done a nice job surrounding him with talent, guys like [Jeff] Skinner, [Rasmus] Dahlin and [Sam] Reinhart. They're starting to jell and it shows."
"I won't be surprised if he breaks all the records in Buffalo if he plays his whole career there," Perreault said. "He's going to get all the records there if he's not hurt."