Fantasy: Jack Eichel's far-reaching impact

The Buffalo Sabres scored four or more goals twice in their first 21 games. With center Jack Eichel back from an ankle injury, they have done it twice in as many games.
The Sabres have been a much more dynamic offense with Eichel on the ice, scoring five goals in a victory at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday before stunning the New York Rangers with a pair of third-period goals (each scored by Eichel) to win Thursday at home. Eichel has four points (three goals, one assist) to go along with three power-play points and nine shots on goal in his first two games. His early shot attempts sample is also impressive; he has a plus-10 differential (38 shot attempts for, 28 against).

But even bigger than his individual fantasy accolades has been his immediate impact on his linemates; he's been creating scoring chances early and often for Sam Reinhart (C/RW, 29 percent owned) and Evander Kane (LW, 20 percent owned). Our fantasy staff raved about their upside, despite slow starts to the season, earlier in the week, and they have come through as advertised with Eichel centering their line.
Reinhart,
one of NHL.com's preseason fantasy sleepers
, bounced from center to wing constantly because the Sabres were hit with a lot of early-season injuries (Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly, Kane). The 21-year-old's production suffered without much support around him in the lineup; he had seven points in his first 18 games.

But even before Eichel's return, Reinhart began to find his groove; he had two assists against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 21 and scored a goal two games later at the Washington Capitals on Nov. 25. In his next two games on the right wing of Eichel and Kane, Reinhart has produced three points, a plus-2 rating, one PPP and three SOG.
Remember, a big reason for Reinhart's strong second half as a rookie was the time spent alongside Eichel while O'Reilly was injured. Eichel (24 goals in 2015-16) and Reinhart (23) joined Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat (2013-14, Tampa Bay Lightning), Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone (2014-15, Ottawa Senators) and Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (2007-08, Chicago Blackhawks) as the only rookie teammates to score at least 20 goals apiece in a season since 2007-08.
Injuries and discipline issues have been concerns surrounding Kane in the past, but he scored 20 goals last season and had 30 in 2011-12. Any point production usually comes with strong performance in peripheral fantasy categories, namely SOG (29 in 12 games), hits (26) and penalty minutes (10). In Eichel's two games back, Kane has assists in each game and has totaled six SOG. He has been limited to 12 of Buffalo's 23 games because he missed time after sustaining cracked ribs on opening night, but has a chance to do serious multicategory damage during the final three-quarters of the season.
And an already strong Buffalo power play (23.4 percent; fourth in NHL) could improve with the inclusion of Eichel on the first unit. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who leads the NHL with 10 power-play assists this season, stands to benefit from being on the ice with such a strong puck-moving center at even strength as well.
Now is the perfect time to jump on one or both of these Sabres skaters while their ownership and Yahoo current ranks (Reinhart: 131st; Kane: 497th) are low.

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SCRATCHING THE SURFACE:

Josh Bailey, LW/RW, NYI (4 percent owned)
This is not just a trial anymore; Bailey is sticking alongside John Tavares on the top line for the New York Islanders, who won three games in four days this week by defeating the Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. Bailey's stretch of fantasy production dates back to Nov. 22, the start of the Islanders' three-game California road trip. He has points in five of his past six games, totaling one goal, five assists, a plus-3 rating, two PPP and 16 SOG. He is averaging 3:09 per game on the power play during that span and has been a fixture on the first unit all season.
Andrej Sekera, D, EDM (4 percent owned)
Sekera played a season-high 24:59 against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and had two assists (one on the power play) in another strong road showing by the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers have the most road goals in the NHL this season (45 in 14 games), and fantasy owners should continue to ride NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid (34 points in 25 games) by association. Sekera, who has points in two straight games and nine points this season, played on the first power-play unit with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic against the Jets. He and Oscar Klefbom (26 percent owned) have rotated in and out of that spot for much of the season, but Sekera's ownership is much lower and his upside is just as high after this development. Many forget Sekera had 30 points (14 PPP) last season for the Oilers and a career-high 44 (15 PPP) in 2013-14 with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Juuse Saros, G, NSH (2 percent owned)
The deep-league fantasy goalie market is so thin that you need to stay ahead of the curve whenever possible. Saros, recalled by the Nashville Predators on Nov. 24, has made the most of his two starts this season, going 1-1-0 with 55 saves on 57 shots against the Penguins and Jets. Starter Pekka Rinne (seventh among goalies in Yahoo's performance-based rankings) has bounced back to rejoin the elite. That said, fantasy owners in deep leagues looking to stash a high-upside backup or simply seek potential injury insurance for Rinne need to consider adding Saros. The 21-year-old was named American Hockey League goaltender of the month for November and is available in nearly all formats.