Buffalo Sabres: Player of the month award for October
By Nick McAdam
It’s been a difficult start to the 2017-18 campaign for the Buffalo Sabres, as they went 3-7-2 during October and find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
It’s fair to say the start to this season has been less than ideal for Phil Housley and the rest of the management. No one expected the Buffalo Sabres to be in last place in the East, entering November.
However, though the Sabres’ performance as a whole has been disappointing, there are still some individual performances worth noting. Players such as Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly and Jason Pominville have done more than their fair share to contribute to this club.
But, there’s one player that stands out above the rest for the month of October:
Evander Kane
Kane has been known for his off-ice antics, but he put all that behind him and is off to a tremendous start to the season. He is currently tied for the team lead with six goals and assists, shared by only Pominville. His 12 points are also tied for a team lead with Eichel and Pominville.
The Sabres’ leader scorer wasn’t even given a leadership role from the management. However, Kane has certainly taken games into his own hands and proved he’s above the rest in the opening month.
The 26-year-old opened up a sublime month with two goals and an assist against the New York Islanders. His first goal was off an absolute peach of a pass from Eichel, to get the Buffalo Sabres going. Kane then used his determination to pry the puck away from the boards, take a shot on net, and rebound it home for his second goal of the night.
He then followed up that showing with a great outing against the New Jersey Devils . Evander scored the only two goals for the Sabres in an embarrassing loss to the Devils, by a score of 6-2.
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Kane used his speed to fly away from the Devils’ defender and eventually was able to slide it past Cory Schneider for his first goal. Kane used his determination to take three strikes at the puck before he put it top shelf for the late second goal, even though it was game over for Buffalo.
Who can forget his goal against the Vegas Golden Knights to tie it up with just nine seconds left on the clock? The Winnipeg native used incredible hand-eye coordination to bat the puck out of mid air and past Malcolm Subban.
Kane’s recent performances will make him a trade target for contending teams once the deadline hits. He contains that effective pace and goal-scoring abilities that teams crave for.
At this moment in time, we should embrace what Kane has been doing for the team so far this season. If he doesn’t feature in some of the Sabres contests this season, results become more disappointing. Kane has turned himself into one of Housley’s clutch players, which in turn has made him a leader for the month of October.
Next: Why the Sabres should trade Evander Kane