Eichel on his return to Buffalo: “That’s the loudest I’ve heard this place, ever”

Just like his exit, Jack Eichel’s return to Buffalo was filled with drama.

On Thursday night, the former Sabres captain faced off against the team that drafted him No. 2 overall for the first time since he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights back in November. The Sabres gave Eichel a video tribute, which was met with a mixed reaction from the fans…

The Sabres wound up winning the game by a score of 3-1. Two players who were traded to Buffalo in exchange for Eichel scored against the former club, as Peyton Krebs opened the scoring and Alex Tuch iced the game with an empty-net goal late in the third period. Meanwhile, Eichel played 17:50 and was left off the scoresheet.

Fans booed Eichel when he touched the puck, they cheered when he was booted out of the faceoff circle, and they went nuts when Tuch stole the puck from him before scoring that empty-net goal.

After the game, a visibly frustrated Eichel made a snide remark about Buffalo, stating that this was the loudest he had ever heard the fans at KeyBank Center…

“That’s the loudest I’ve heard this place, ever,” Eichel said. “It only took seven years and me leaving for them to get into the game.”

“It was a nice tribute and there were plenty of people here that were supporting me and plenty of people here that were booing me. They must just be booing because they wish I was still here. I don’t know.”

The loss put the Golden Knights at 32-23-4 for the season and 4-6-1 with Eichel in the lineup.

When the trade was made in November, Vegas appeared to be a Stanley Cup contender. Here we are now, in mid-March, and the team is locked in a tight playoff race in the Western Conference.