Eichel named NHL's Third Star of the Week

Jack Eichel has been named the NHL's Third Star of the Week, the league announced Monday. The Buffalo Sabres captain tallied five goals and four assists in four games, leading the team to a 3-0-1 record.
Washington's Alex Ovechkin (7+0) and Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele (5+6) were the league's first and second stars, respectively.
Eichel has turned in seven multi-point outings in his last nine games and is tied for the NHL lead with 17 such games this season. He scored a goal and an assist against Los Angeles on Tuesday, added two goals in Washington on Saturday and scored four points (2+2) in Boston on Sunday. He also tallied an assist against Arizona on Thursday.

"He's just brought his game to another level," Sabres coach Phil Housley said after the game in Boston. "Especially under the circumstances tonight, too. He had played 24 or 25 minutes last night and then he comes back and plays almost 20 minutes tonight. And he plays at both ends.
"He plays the game with speed offensively, he's reloading with meaningful strides coming back into our zone. He's just playing a 200-foot game, just a complete game right now."
Eichel is tied with Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau for sixth in the NHL with 45 points in 34 games. His 31 assists are tied for fifth with Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon. He's on pace for 33 goals and 108 points, both of which would mark new career-highs.
If he maintains his pace, it would be the fourth-most productive season in franchise history. Pat LaFontaine holds the record with 148 points in 1992-93, followed by Alexander Mogilny (127 in 1992-93) and Gilbert Perreault (113 in 1975-76).

Eichel is also on pace for 82 points at even-strength, which would stand as the third-highest single season total for any player since the 2004 lockout. Edmonton's Connor McDavid scored 84 points at even-strength last season and Vancouver's Henrik Sedin tallied 83 points in 2009-10.
Read our feature story about the strides Eichel has made so far in his first season as captain here.