It's no secret that Jack Eichel has had a contentious relationship with his former team, the Buffalo Sabres. No, it didn't cause him not to score a power play goal this season. The Vegas Golden Knights superstar didn't get the neck surgery he wanted in Buffalo, leading to his eventual trade to Vegas. Lo and behold, Bill Foley is a graceful man and he grants him artificial disk replacement surgery.
What happened afterwards? Well, let's just say that he emerged onto the Stanley Cup playoff scene with six goals and 20 assists in 2022-23. In turn, he won his first Stanley Cup before the Sabres. Certainly, that's a good middle finger to stick up, right?
Believe it or not, those same Sabres come to town on St. Patrick's Day. Believe it or not, these Sabres are good. Buffalo entered Monday's slate of games on top of the Atlantic Division with 88 points. That includes a 9-1-0 stretch in the last 10 games.
So, let's honor Eichel and look at some of the most iconic moments in the short, yet sweet, rivalry. What moments stood out for Eichel against his former team? Which games were his biggest catches yet?
1.) Tomas Hertl's pass to Eichel on March 15, 2025
Tomas Hertl has a wide-open net in front of him. He has a "golden" opportunity to ice a victory in Buffalo against the Sabres. However, he does something peculiar with this play. Instead of cashing in on the open net, he passes it to Eichel.
The former Sabre doesn't score and his old team gets a game-tying goal, thanks to Rasmus Dahlin. The Golden Knights went on to lose that game in a shootout, 4-3. It was the cherry on top of a terrible Eastern Time Zone cake, where Vegas would be shut out in Detroit afterwards.
While there isn't much incentive to think about what could've been in that game, it's a prime example of why you must be selfish in certain situations. That means firing the puck into an open net and taking care of business. Like, imagine if that happened during the Stanley Cup Final.
2.) Eichel's revenge game against the Buffalo Sabres on November 10, 2022
The Vegas Golden Knights saw their new superstar fall flat on March 10, 2022, against his old club. He didn't register a single point and only had two shots on goal. So, what did he do in the next contest?
Well, he fired off shots. Seven, to be exact. The former Hobey Baker winner also got a hat trick and added an assist in a 7-4 blowout win. All four points came in the third period, capping off an explosive session for the jilted superstar.
3.) Eichel's other big game against the Buffalo Sabres on January 4, 2025
Once again, Jack Eichel struck in the third period on January 4, 2025. He scored a third period goal against the Buffalo Sabres, capping off a 3-1 victory. The Golden Knights center also had an assist on Mark Stone's first period goal, helping Vegas go up 2-0.
The play resulted in Eichel earning the third star against his former team. In fact, he's done great work in exacting his revenge against his former club: the former first-round pick has six goals and three assists in six career games against Buffalo.