Eichel named NHL's 3rd Star of Week for 2nd week in a row

Jack Eichel has been named the NHL's Third Star of the Week for the second straight week, the league announced Monday.

Eichel put together three multi-point outings against St. Louis, Nashville, and the New York Islanders, with five goals and an assist during the week ending Dec. 15. The Sabres went 2-0-1 to gain five of a possible six points.
The Sabres captain is currently on a 16-game point streak, the longest by any player in the NHL this season and tied as the fourth longest in franchise history. Only Gilbert Perreault (18 games in 1971) and Dave Andreychuk (17 games, twice) have put together longest streaks as Sabres.
Eichel's 23 goals this season rank second in the NHL to Boston's David Pastrnak. He leads in the league with 17 even-strength goals and is tied for fifth with 58 points. He's on pace for 55 goals and 115 points, which would be the most productive season by a Sabres player since Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny's memorable 1992-93 campaign.

Asked about his recent performance after practice on Monday, Eichel gave credit to linemates Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart.
"I think Victor and Sam have been tremendous," he said. "I think obviously we know how good of a player Reino is and he's proven that over the last few years, but I think Vic's taken his game to another level over the last however many games.
"You can see him in the O-zone protecting pucks, putting people on his back, you can tell he's really confident right now. I mean, you see him shoot the puck, it's something else. That shot the other night to start the second period, there's not a lot of guys in the world who can shoot the puck like that. It's great to see. I think we're starting to build more chemistry. I think we're just trying to work hard."
Vegas Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty was named the First Star of the Week and Ottawa Senators forward Anthony Duclair earned Second Star honors.