Buffalo Sabres Need Evander Kane To Step The Hell Up
The Buffalo Sabres offense has been revitalized by the return of Jack Eichel, but one of their top-6 forwards is severely under-performing . . . .
The Buffalo Sabres are playing what is without-a-doubt their best hockey of the 2016-17 season right now.
With 9 goals in their past two games, the team is reaping huge dividends from what I call the Jack Eichel Effect, and it’s not just the play of Eichel himself that has resulted in such a stunning turnaround. Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo, and Sam Reinhart are clearly reaping the benefits of having a talent like Eichel back on the ice, and in turn they are elevating their own play, probably because the pressure is off of them to have to make up for Eichel’s absence.
So everyone is feeling energized and playing some of their best hockey of the season . . . everyone except Evander Kane, that is, who is already the forward everyone loves to hate in the 716.
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Let me start out by giving Kane his due: the guy fractured some ribs on opening night, and came back and played through the pain, so he’s a warrior. I’m never going to take that away from someone, and maybe he is still struggling with those ribs. Hockey players are some of the toughest athletes in the world, and they do things on a daily basis that I could never do, so save your breath if you are going to tell me I don’t appreciate what these guys do to their bodies, blah blah blah.
There could be a really good reason, then, why Kane is not producing at the rate we would all like . . . . but that doesn’t change the fact that he gets paid a whole hell of a lot of money to produce points. He’s still getting his money, but the Sabres are not getting points. That’s a problem, and it looks as if coach Dan Bylsma might be running out of patience:
#Sabres lines have an… interesting twist?
Girgensons-ROR-Okposo
Grant-Eichel-Reinhart
Foligno-Larsson-Gionta
Carrier-Kane-Moulson— Brayton J. Wilson (@BJWilsonWGR) December 2, 2016
Will Kane be demoted to the fourth line when the Sabres host the Boston Bruins on Saturday? I have no idea . . . not if this Tweet is to be believed . . .
Bylsma said Lehner will start Saturday. Practice lines were to facilitate special teams only (but he understands why people react) #Sabres
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) December 2, 2016
. . . but clearly it’s a possibility, and honestly, it might be the cold shower Kane needs. (If we’re being fair, it’s also like a slap in the face to Matt Moulson, who has been having a great year and doesn’t deserve to be on what Chris Ostrander over at Two in the Box referred to as “Dan’s Doghouse.”) After all, Kane is a former 30-goal scorer who currently has . . . 4 points. With no goals.
Not the sort of production GM Tim Murray thought he would get from Kane when he overpaid to get him out of Winnipeg, and not the sort of production that will help the Buffalo Sabres win games once their game comes back down to earth.
The Buffalo Sabres are on a roll and are clearly much better with Jack Eichel on the ice. One man cannot do it all for the remaining 59 games, however – the Sabres need production from at least three lines, and especially their top-6. Evander Kane has been mostly non-existent this season, and that needs to change in a hurry if he wants to avoid being drafted by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in 2017.
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