Johansson spent seven seasons as Alex Ovechkin's teammate in Washington. He played with Taylor Hall in New Jersey and David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron in Boston. So, when he credits his young captain with having the ability to take over games, it means something.
"The way he can take over games, it's impressive," Johansson said. "Not a lot of guys can do that. He's so dominant when he gets going like that.
"He's so big and strong, too. It's not just that he can play with the puck and make plays. He's so big and strong and fast. He's got everything. When he does that, it kind of sparks the whole team."
Statistically speaking, Eichel is taking over games like never before. This was his sixth three-point outing of the season - two more than his previous career high, set in 2016-17. Only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have more such games this season.
Eichel has tallied 15 points (8+7) during his eight-game point streak. Through 26 contests, he's on pace for 82-game totals of 50 goals and 107 points.
Oh, and he has also never shied away from the rivalry with the Maple Leafs. He has 12 goals in 14 career contests against Buffalo's neighbors to the north, his best per-game output against any opponent.
The two teams meet again at Scotiabank Arena in less than 24 hours.
"We always play them hard and they always play us tough," Eichel said. "… It's good to see us get a win tonight. I don't think we did too well against them last year. We've got a big game tomorrow night. We know they're going to be ready to go. We've just got to be ready at puck drop."