Jack Eichel to the rescue.
The Buffalo Sabres center and franchise forward has made a big-league impact since returning to the lineup on Nov. 29.
After suffering a high-ankle sprain on the eve of the season opener, it was a gloomy state of affairs in Western New York after what had been a promising offseason.
Over the summer, Sabres general manager Tim Murray made a handful of recruits in an effort to build on his team's 81-point finish in 2015-16, Eichel's first year in the NHL after being drafted second overall the previous June.
Several new faces arrived in Buffalo. High-profile winger Kyle Okposo, fresh off a 22-goal campaign with the cross-state New York Islanders, was added in free agency. Veteran blue-liner Dmitry Kulikov was acquired from the Florida Panthers. Meanwhile, starting goaltender Robin Lehner was looking forward to a fresh start after an injury-riddled season the year prior.
But then Eichel was lost one day before the season opener versus the divisional rival Montreal Canadiens, after an awkward fall resulted in an ankle injury that sidelined him for six weeks. In all, Eichel missed 21 games, while the Sabres struggled in his absence, posting a 7-9-5 record and tallying just 1.81 goals per game.
But things have turned around since his return, as Eichel has already collected 12 goals and nine assists in what will be an abbreviated season for the Massachusetts native. He's been the biggest reason the Sabres have a winning record since his return, as the team has gone 13-9-4 over that stretch and its goals-per-game ratio has also jumped more than a full point - coming in at 2.93 - since Jack came back.
How far can the turnaround go? Playoffs are now a possibility for the Sabres, although slim, given the muck that is the bottom of the East - Buffalo is among a group of teams battling it out in the conference's basement, where no club stands more than five points behind the final playoff slot.
That certainly wasn't the case just a few months ago, when the Sabres were seemingly holding on for Eichel's return. Now, he's back, and the Sabres are winning. It's no wonder why the Buffalo faithful like Eich.
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