Vegas Golden Knights star center Jack Eichel is dominating the Stanley Cup playoffs, outplaying Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon and powering Vegas' surge toward their second Cup with his elite playmaking and stellar defensive effort. Can Eichel carry the Knights to another championship?
The Vegas Golden Knights have stunned the hockey world by jumping out to a 2-0 series lead over the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final. One of the key reasons why Vegas has been so successful is the play of Jack Eichel.
The superstar center posted his second goal of the post-season to tie the game at a goal apiece in Game 2 on Friday. In addition, Eichel had the primary assist on left winger Ivan Barbashev’s game-winning marker in Game 2, giving him 16 assists and 18 points in 14 games.
Only Vegas right winger Mitch Marner (19 points) has more points than Eichel, but once again, you can see why Eichel is so valuable for the Golden Knights.
Right now, Eichel has the one-up on Avalanche superstar center Nathan MacKinnon, as Eichel has two assists and three points in two games in this series, while MacKinnon has just a single assist in the two games.
It’s not just on the scoresheet where Eichel is having a Grade-A performance; he’s also played the most ice time on the penalty kill of any Vegas forward in the Western Conference finals, amassing 3:49 of shorthanded ice time. Meanwhile, Eichel ranks fifth among forwards on the Golden Knights in 5-on-5 ice time at an average of 16:51, and he’s among the team leaders in power play time on ice.
“I think he’s the best 200-foot player in the game,” said Vegas coach John Tortorella about Eichel. “I do, and there are some good ones, but he’s right there. I’ve been fortunate enough to be with him.”
Jack Eichel and Nathan MacKinnon (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)Eichel is an all-around force to reckon with, but if the goal-scoring starts coming for Eichel – something that’s not out of the question, given that he posted 27 goals in 74 regular-season games this year – the Golden Knights might cruise past the Avalanche and into the Cup final for the third time in franchise history.
Nobody should be counting out the Avalanche from making a comeback. But Eichel continues to show why he’s so crucial to Vegas’ fortunes. He can do it all, and he’s already had a memorable season – one in which he won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA – so capping it off with his second Cup win would be icing on the cake.
Remember, Eichel is only 29 years old. He’s got a lot of great hockey left in him, and if he does win the second Cup of his 11-year NHL career this year, he might very well win more championships after that. Eichel is that good, and so are the Golden Knights. Every game that Eichel thrives in is another indication that we’re looking at a surefire Hockey-Hall-of-Famer.
Unless the Avalanche figure out a way to stop Eichel from imposing his will on games, Vegas is almost assuredly going to roll over Colorado and into the Cup final.
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