Eye on the C — shift by shift breakdown of Eichel's game on Long Island

[Thorny 3,381]

8 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

One thing I said about Jack, and it applies for most of his career...he is one of the slowest fast guys I have seen. I understand it might be the way he chooses to play...but we hear about how fast he is...in the fastest skater competition he is usually just a fraction behind the leaders/winners....but he doesn't show it all that much.

McDavid, McKinnon....other guys known for their speed...when I watch them play it seems like 2,3, maybe 4 times per game they take the puck and just decide they are going to use their top-end speed and blow by people, and they are often successful.  That doesn't happen much with Eichel.

He's generally an east-west player - he doesn't drive to the net with authority and I've been saying this for years and years including posting highlight packs where Jack had next to no slot/net-driving goals. 

Quick, to the board: think of a goal where Jack roofed it over the goalie's glove from the high slot, in close/between the circles. Or on a breakaway/partial break: I sure can't. He doesn't score goals like that often. 

Edited Tuesday at 10:44 PM by Thorny

[mjd1001 159]

9 minutes ago, Thorny said:

He's generally an east-west player - he doesn't drive to the net with authority and I've been saying this for years and years including posting highlight packs where Jack had next to no net slot/net-driving goals. 

Quick, to the board: think of a goal where Jack roofed it over the goalie's glove from the high slot, in close. Or on a breakaway/partial break I sure can't. He doesn't score goals like that. 

And that style of play...I'm not being critical in that I think hes a lesser player for it.  Its just personally, when I heard about how fast he was...I had visions in my head of how McKinnon or McDavid play...or back in the day the neutral-zone to goal rushes in a blink of an eye that you would see from Peter Bondra or Pavel Bure, even Danny Briere.  I was hoping we would get more of that from jack...personally I like to watch the 'all gas/no brakes' style of play much more than the 'art and precision' of the well executed offensive zone game.

More often than other 'fast' players...Jack seems to use is speed to just get over the blue line...and then chooses to slow things down once in the zone.

Edited Tuesday at 10:51 PM by mjd1001

[Thorny 3,381]

I always think about this goal from Danny Briere

I can't think of Jack ever scoring like that. 

[Curt 1,700]

13 minutes ago, Thorny said:

It happens, though - just off the top of my head, Giroux was a shell of himself from 15-17 - then he bounced back. Jack could easily look like a completely different player for reasons other than injury. 

Oh, it’s possible.  I just don’t have an explanation so I lean injury.  

[Thorny 3,381]

It's a simple play, really, but Jack doesn't drive head on like that. It's so weird. 

Edited Tuesday at 10:54 PM by Thorny

[mjd1001 159]

Just now, Thorny said:

I always think about this goal from Danny Briere

I can't think of Jack ever scoring like that. 

Exactly.  The current Sabres have a small handful of goals like that, it just seems like they don't even want to try to play that way now.

[Thorny 3,381]

15 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

One thing I said about Jack, and it applies for most of his career...he is one of the slowest fast guys I have seen. I understand it might be the way he chooses to play...but we hear about how fast he is...in the fastest skater competition he is usually just a fraction behind the leaders/winners....but he doesn't show it all that much.

McDavid, McKinnon....other guys known for their speed...when I watch them play it seems like 2,3, maybe 4 times per game they take the puck and just decide they are going to use their top-end speed and blow by people, and they are often successful.  That doesn't happen much with Eichel.

He looks like Bobby Orr sometimes from our end to the blueline, then he forgets he's a forward once he gets in zone. 

He'd be a whiz on D or in 1930. 

[SwampD 3,127]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

I always think about this goal from Danny Briere

I can't think of Jack ever scoring like that. 

He did it against Nashville.

[Thorny 3,381]

3 minutes ago, SwampD said:

He did it against Nashville.

Even then it was a cut to the middle rather than a net drive if I’m thinking of  the same goal. 

And if I am, it works towards my point - that goal is on Jack’s career highlight real, scoring from the middle is not a common occurrence. 

It was undoubtedly a great goal - I remember it more for the rush. 

[LouBrawls 32]

3 hours ago, Curt said:

This is a strange take.  He has been in the NHL for several years already.  Something is different this year.

Maybe strange to you  but it's what i see when I've watched him since entering the NHL.  Has he ever really taken over and been the preeminent player like Crosby, McDavid, McKinnon or heck Pastarnak?  No, because he's, pun intended, just skating by.  It's a lot like the Sabres organization, doing just enough to get by.Mediocrity reigns.

 

Like i said, just my opinion, I think he's a Lollygagger.

[Curt 1,700]

Just now, LouBrawls said:

Maybe strange to you  but it's what i see when I've watched him since entering the NHL.  Has he ever really taken over and been the preeminent player like Crosby, McDavid, McKinnon or heck Pastarnak?  No, because he's, pun intended, just skating by.  It's a lot like the Sabres organization, doing just enough to get by.Mediocrity reigns.

Like i said, just my opinion, I think he's a Lollygagger.

I think he can get down when things get tough.  Honestly not what I want to see from the captain.

This year is something else though.  It’s not little moments of moping.  He seems consistently off.

Thats what I see.

[Thorny 3,381]

13 minutes ago, LouBrawls said:

Maybe strange to you  but it's what i see when I've watched him since entering the NHL.  Has he ever really taken over and been the preeminent player like Crosby, McDavid, McKinnon or heck Pastarnak?  No, because he's, pun intended, just skating by.  It's a lot like the Sabres organization, doing just enough to get by.Mediocrity reigns.

 

Like i said, just my opinion, I think he's a Lollygagger.

First 75% of last year, he was right with them. 

Believe he had the longest point streak in the league last year - he was at that MVP level. 

Needs to maintain it. 

Edited 23 hours ago by Thorny

[PerreaultForever 1,119]

16 minutes ago, Curt said:

I think he can get down when things get tough.  Honestly not what I want to see from the captain.

This year is something else though.  It’s not little moments of moping.  He seems consistently off.

Thats what I see.

Yup. His head doesn't seem to be in the game. Like he's somewhere else, like he's stoned even.  Floats around, waves his stick near people, he's there, but all too often he really doesn't do anything. 5 on 5 he is absolutely horrible this year and if we weren't already sitting Skinner I'd say he needs to sit a game too. 

The only upside is as a result of Eichel doing less, Reinhart has picked up a little of that slack and carried the puck more and got in tighter more and is actually playing very well. Maybe that's connected, maybe not. 

[mjd1001 159]

22 minutes ago, Curt said:

I think he can get down when things get tough.  Honestly not what I want to see from the captain.

This year is something else though.  It’s not little moments of moping.  He seems consistently off.

Thats what I see.

Ok, for the old-timers on this board (my age or older).... I remember as a little kid, years before Jim Kelly, Joe Ferguson was QB of the Bills.  As his career went on, the Bills gave allowed him to throw more and he actually became an above average passer in the NFL....but when things went bad....he didn't take it well, his head went down and he just got so down it impacted his game.   Obviously, Eichel is a bigger part of this team and has more talent than Ferguson had for the Bills....but the similarities on how they handle the bad times are very similar.

[Curt 1,700]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Ok, for the old-timers on this board (my age or older).... I remember as a little kid, years before Jim Kelly, Joe Ferguson was QB of the Bills.  As his career went on, the Bills gave allowed him to throw more and he actually became an above average passer in the NFL....but when things went bad....he didn't take it well, his head went down and he just got so down it impacted his game.   Obviously, Eichel is a bigger part of this team and has more talent than Ferguson had for the Bills....but the similarities on how they handle the bad times are very similar.

Whose Jim Kelly?

 

 

just kidding

[BuffalOhio 36]

9 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Hall hitting the inside of goalpost last night and having it bounce out...

 

We pissed off some God somewhere. We should hire a priest or witch doctor to perform an exorcism on the team 

It's the Drury-Briere Curse, I tell ya!

[pi2000 1,347]

 

[Weave 3,448]

7 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

Ok, for the old-timers on this board (my age or older).... I remember as a little kid, years before Jim Kelly, Joe Ferguson was QB of the Bills.  As his career went on, the Bills gave allowed him to throw more and he actually became an above average passer in the NFL....but when things went bad....he didn't take it well, his head went down and he just got so down it impacted his game.   Obviously, Eichel is a bigger part of this team and has more talent than Ferguson had for the Bills....but the similarities on how they handle the bad times are very similar.

I’ve felt the Joe Ferguson similarity.  He does display that same sense of defeatism.

[Cascade Youth 335]

If he’s not hurt, he’s trying to get himself traded.  By pouting like a toddler.

[JKB1646 13]

18 hours ago, dudacek said:

Nice work.

The lack of authority with which he is moving and protecting the puck (feeding the high number of turnovers) are the in-game manifestations, but the most troubling thing is the body language.

The number of times he projects '(deep sigh), what's the point' on a turnover, a rush, a puck battle, a backcheck, or even skating to the bench tells me his mindset has approached Sabrespace levels of fatigue.

Have you seen this dramatization of Jack's career?

 

I so agree ! Eichel has to be THE WORSE SABRES LEADER EVER. McCabe now there is a Player who can lead and be wearing the C

[North Buffalo 1,412]

2 hours ago, Cascade Youth said:

If he’s not hurt, he’s trying to get himself traded.  By pouting like a toddler.

He has to be a bit manic depressive or borderline personality like T.O. was?  Gotta get the guy on meds and even him out.

[#freejame 837]

5 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

He has to be a bit manic depressive or borderline personality like T.O. was?  Gotta get the guy on meds and even him out.

He’s a damn millennial is the problem! /s