How Jack Eichel Propelled Vegas to the Western Conference Final
The Golden Knights star saved his best hockey for the postseason
For most of his career, Jack Eichel has served as a footnote in Connor McDavid’s story. He was drafted immediately after Edmonton’s generational talent and has stood in his vast shadow ever since.
The 26-year-old’s first taste of playoff hockey is rewriting that narrative. He’s not some afterthought who’s along for the ride. With 14 points in 11 games, he’s spearheading the Golden Knights’ title chase and looks every bit like the superstar he was touted to become back in 2015.
Fittingly, his coming-out party was punctuated by a Pacific Division matchup against—you guessed it—McDavid’s Oilers.
Here’s how Eichel rose to the occasion in Round 2.
Puck Protection
If you want to beat the Oilers, you need to impose your tempo on them. Sadly (mostly for the Los Angeles Kings), turtling in a hyper-conservative formation and hoping to survive the avalanche won’t cut it. Congestion can help, of course, but it’s not a silver bullet.
Rather than battening down the hatches, the key is to go on the offensive. Well, a measured offensive. DO NOT trade chances with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Force them to circle back and defend for as long as possible.
Eichel understood the mission and employed a methodical approach to the attack, thus steering the Oilers into unfamiliar territory. The slow crawl:
Though Eichel is known for his finesse, he’s also capable of tapping into a power game—at least in the modern sense, which is to say he can absorb contact and make plays thereafter. He’s a rangy 6’2” and 207 pounds, and when he decides to post you up, it’s quite difficult to catch a glimpse of the biscuit.
That’s due to his puck protection habits. He consistently draws his guideline a few feet off the boards to grant himself escape routes and he holds the puck out in front of his body, well beyond the reach of defenders.
So once he has you on his back, you’re in his world.
Watch how he navigates this exchange with Mattias Ekholm in Game 5:
First, he battles to claim space above the goal line in order to enjoy a longer runway (i.e. more offensive possibilities). Then he stalls for a second to pull Edmonton’s forwards lower and free up a shot from the point. Ekholm, a 6’4”, 215-pound rearguard who can manhandle forwards, is helpless throughout. He doesn’t come close to knocking Eichel off his spot.
Not only did this emphasis on a prolonged cycle challenge Edmonton’s spotty coverage, but it also nullified the Oilers’ speed.
Edmonton’s run-and-gun offense is fueled by the opposition’s one-and-dones. Since Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev insisted on plugging away in the trenches, grinding any semblance of flow to a halt, McDavid and Draisaitl rarely got out of the starting blocks.
Consequently, it’s no surprise that Vegas’ best line led the Golden Knights in every underlying metric. Most importantly, it outscored its competition 7-1 at 5-on-5:
Eichel gained the upper hand by dragging the Oilers into deep waters.
Dual Threat
There’s no denying that he’s a playmaker by nature and he certainly shouldn’t shoot for the sake of shooting. However, selectively pulling the trigger will keep opponents honest. It’ll manufacture more room and higher-quality opportunities for everyone around you.
Eichel, who becomes passive at his worst, was at his assertive best in Round 2. He flashed the different tools in his arsenal to prevent the Oilers from recognizing any patterns.
He was versatile. Unpredictable.
It’s in these moments that you remember why he was briefly mentioned in the same breath as McDavid as a prospect. He can blow past defensemen with his wheels, stick-handle through them in his sleep, tee up everyone on the ice or fire lasers past goaltenders:
Eichel switched gears beautifully vs. the Oilers, taking charge himself or luring defenders closer to set up his teammates. He was constantly laying off the gas and then flooring it to unsettle Edmonton’s back end.
He may not have generated as many chances as McDavid did, but he exerted more control over the proceedings. The Oilers couldn’t rush him into rash decisions. Instead, he weighed his options, identified the optimal one and unlocked the defense over and over again.
Jay Woodcroft’s men often defaulted to the notion that he would pass because…he likes to pass. That didn’t pan out well:
Look at how the Oilers defend this 2-on-1. Even as Eichel shifts his gaze from Marchessault (VGK 81) to the net, in a prime off-wing shooting location, both Brett Kulak (EDM 27) and the backchecker cover the passing lane. That might have worked against regular season Jack, but he’s clearly open to ripping it right now.
Among the 132 forwards who logged 50+ minutes at 5-on-5 in the second round, he ranked:
10th in shot attempts
8th in shots
15th in goals
His willingness to test goaltenders changes the dynamic and supercharges the potency of his line. The proof? He, Marchessault and Barbashev ended neck and neck with Jordan Martinook, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jesper Fast as the most productive trio in Round 2:
Eichel himself ranked third in points per 60 minutes. Hell, he posted as many even-strength points in this series as McDavid managed in the entire postseason.
The Oilers simply had no clue how to contain him. They tried to defend him like the old Eichel, and by the time they gathered enough information to reach another conclusion, their season was over.
It’s been a highly publicized and tortuous road for the 2015 second overall pick, but he’s finally arrived. Eichel is dictating the action on a nightly basis and just outplayed two of the deadliest weapons in the sport.
In doing so, he proved that he can be the guy.