Friday Four: Jack Eichel, New York Islanders impress

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will be bringing you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays, or trends that have caught his eye.

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Jack Eichel's return

Eichel, who injured his ankle during the preseason, made his season debut on Tuesday and had an immediate impact with a goal and an assist for the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-4 win at the Ottawa Senators. He followed that up with two goals in the third period in a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers in his home debut this season on Thursday. That's three goals and four points in two games for Eichel.
It's clear that Eichel has an impact on the Sabres' offense; they've scored nine goals in the two games since his return. He changes how other teams defend and also make his teammates better. The Sabres managed to stay above water in Eichel's absence and should be right there competing for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference now that he's back.

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New York Islanders

The Islanders have won three games in a row. Monday was a 2-1 overtime win against the Calgary Flames, Wednesday was a 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in which they scored the game-winning goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third period, and Thursday was a 3-0 shutout at the Washington Capitals, one of the best offensive teams in the League. Jason Chimera, who spent the past seven seasons in Washington before signing with New York during the summer, scored a goal against his former team.
One thing that was gone from the Islanders' game this season, and a big reason they've struggled, is their forecheck. However, that's come back in the past few games. Every player and coach I talked to the last couple of years always talked about how good their forecheck was. They're a different team. Everyone can point to the fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, but it wasn't just them; it was more than that. It became infectious to their team the past three seasons when they were pesky. We've started to see that in the past three games, and it's no coincidence they've won all three.
The Islanders are also getting to the front of the net. They've been scoring goals at key times or late in periods, the kind they have been giving up for most of the season. Lastly, their goaltending has been good; Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves on Thursday.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues are scoring goals again. They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 on Thursday and have won three straight, scoring 12 goals. Vladimir Tarasenko had a hat trick and Kevin Shattenkirk had four points on Thursday, but they're hardly the only ones contributing. Jaden Schwartz (five goals, four assists) had a seven-game point streak end Thursday and David Perron (three goals, eight assists) saw his eight-game point streak end. Perron has fit in seamlessly in his return to St. Louis and goalie Jake Allen won his seventh straight game.

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Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks came back home after going 3-3-1 on their annual "Circus Trip" and have won two in a row at United Center, including a 4-3 overtime victory against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. What's more impressive is they've done this without captain Jonathan Toews, who has missed the past four games with an upper-body injury.
Marian Hossa, who scored in overtime on Thursday, has 12 goals in 24 games this season. The 37-year-old had 13 in 64 games in 2015-16
Speaking of the Devils, they've been on a goal-scoring tear (16 in five games), but they've dropped four straight (0-1-3). Michael Cammalleri has nine points in five games. Travis Zajac had a hat trick Thursday and leads the Devils with eight goals.

HONORABLE MENTION

The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to play well. They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning twice in the past week, scoring five goals each time, and have won three of their past four games. Their power play is incredible and I love the way they play and move the puck around on it. And of course, Sergei Bobrovsky is playing as well as anyone in net, and his success can't be left out when mentioning the Blue Jackets' success.
I see the Dallas Stars as fun to watch. But if they want to go deep, I think they'll have to upgrade their goaltending. Antti Niemi allowed five goals on 39 shots in a 6-2 road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. He has a 3.20 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. His counterpart, Kari Lehtonen, has fared worse (3.28 GAA, .885 save percentage). Fortunately for the Stars, the Central Division isn't what it once was; they're only one point out of third place even though they're fifth.
Lastly, here are my Vezina Trophy finalists so far this season: Carey Price, Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne.