Golden Knights' Jack Eichel turned into Ben Simmons during Stanley Cup playoffs
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Golden Knights' Jack Eichel turned into Ben Simmons during Stanley Cup playoffs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Jack Eichel hit the bar on a key shot during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, a moment that pretty much ensured the Vegas Golden Knights wouldn't rally against the Carolina Hurricanes.
But what was weirdest about that play wasn't that Eichel got unlucky. It was that he shot the puck at all.
During these playoffs, Eichel pretty much stopped shooting.
At risk of an over-the-top cross-sport comparison, he turned into Ben Simmons, the once uber-talented Philadelphia 76ers star who got scared of putting the ball up toward the basket and became a lot less effective because of it.
Basketball and hockey don't work quite the same, and Eichel can still be quite effective even in mostly passing. He had a league-best 20 assists in this postseason.
Those 20 dimes came with just two goals, though.
During the regular season, Eichel attempted more than six shots per game.
That number declined to closer to five shots per game in the playoffs.
He also had fewer shots on target per game in the postseason than the regular season.
It's not that he stopped shooting altogether, but in watching him, the shot became less and less of a threat, and defenses know that.
If they expect Eichel to pass, even from dangerous spots on the power play, then they can cover those angles better.
Eichel has scored at least 27 goals each of the past four seasons. He's quite capable of finding the back of the net.
For whatever reason, though, it's like the thought of shooting often didn't even come to mind during the playoffs.
The lack of Eichel shots might not be to blame for the Golden Knights' loss in the championship series. But things could've had a different dynamic if Eichel had kept shooting.