Eichel’s four-point night lifts Sabres

For only the second time this season the Buffalo Sabres have won two games in a row – this one against the lowly Edmonton Oilers by a score of 5-0. It was by far the most dominating win for the Sabres this season.

The last time they won two straight was against the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, going all the way back to October 21st and 24th of 2017. This victory marked the season sweep of the Oilers as well.

The driving force for the Sabres all season long has been none other than Jack Eichel, who is on an absolute torrid streak right now. He extended his point streak to six games last night with the game-winning goal in overtime against the Calgary Flames. He extended that streak to seven games Tuesday night with ease.

Eichel who compiled four points (1 G, 3 A) on the night, scored his 20th goal of the season on the power-play about halfway through the second period. It was a patented Jack goal as he ripped a wrist-shot from his off-wing past Oiler’s goaltender Max Talbot, who was beaten short-side.

Before the third period even started the Sabres had at their disposal a 5-0 lead. Their 30th ranked power-play was instrumental in their dominating performance – as was the last-place penalty-kill of the Oilers.

It was like flashbacks of last season when Buffalo retained first-place in NHL with the man advantage. Sam Reinhart got the scoring going tonight on the power-play with a nice tip-in on a Ristolainen shot. His net-front presence has been noticeable of late and his three-point (1 G, 2 A) performance is a testament to that.

Ryan O’Reilly, whose play this season has at times underwhelmed both fans and media pundits, had a notable performance as well. He scored two goals, one of which 5-on-5 and on the power-play.

Before the Oilers could even get their feet wet in the second period, O’Reilly scored 17 seconds in on a nice play from Reinhart and Scott Wilson who forced an Edmonton turnover in their own zone. O’Reilly knocked home a rebound giving Buffalo a 2-0 lead.

He scored again on the power-play on a spectacular passing sequence from the Sabres top unit – again, reminiscent of last season. That was their third power-play goal of the game which gave Buffalo a 5-0 lead and initiated a chorus of boos from the Edmonton faithful.

Buffalo’s top players all finally showed up tonight. In conjunction with the high-output performances by Eichel, Reinhart, and O’Reilly, both Ristolainen and Okposo each put up two assists.

Robin Lehner also deserves credit for a solid performance in net. After some previous outings of getting pulled or letting in soft goals, Lehner played extremely well. He stopped all 33 of Edmonton’s shots, most of which came in the third period. His shutout marks the second of this season and the seventh of his career.

The Sabres’ road trip continues to Vancouver next, where they play the Canucks Thursday night at 10 p.m.