Don't blame McDavid, Eichel for their teams' disappointing starts

The Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres have both underachieved this season, but neither Connor McDavid nor Jack Eichel should be singled out for his club's poor showing out of the gate.

The top two picks from the 2015 draft will meet Friday night for the third time in their young NHL careers, as their clubs look to change the narratives that developed in the first quarter of the 2017-18 campaign.

Eichel is used to the Sabres losing by now, and he's vocalized his displeasure with it repeatedly, but this is new territory for McDavid - at least when the Oilers captain has been healthy.

Edmonton expected to take another step forward this season, and many pegged the Oilers as locks to make the Stanley Cup Final, but they sit second-last in the paltry Pacific Division.

Despite their poor start, McDavid hasn't missed a beat. He's tied for fifth in the NHL in assists (18), ranks sixth in points (28), and has scored 10 goals in 22 games. While Edmonton's managed only eight wins in that span, he hasn't experienced any significant slumps, and he's been particularly effective recently, with nine points in his last five contests.

His performance checks out from an analytics perspective, too. McDavid has driven possession with an even-strength Corsi For percentage of 56.29 and a Relative Corsi For mark of 3.31 percent. While other stars are generating more scoring opportunities, he's created a respectable 10.64 individual scoring chances per 60 minutes.

Though Eichel hasn't been as good, his team has also been much worse. The Sabres have lost seven consecutive games, sit in the basement of the Atlantic Division, and have a better record than only one other NHL club - the lowly Arizona Coyotes.

Buffalo wasn't expecting to make a significant leap in 2017-18, but a new general manager, a new head coach, a reinforced defensive corps, and a healthy Eichel to start the campaign had the Sabres predicting some improvement.

That hasn't happened from a club perspective, but Eichel has arguably done his part, with 18 points in 22 games.

One criticism of the 21-year-old's play has been that he hasn't scored enough. That's fair, since he only has six goals, but he hasn't been shooting as much this fall (69 shots on goal, or 3.13 per game) as he did last season, when he averaged more than four shots on goal in 61 contests.

Eichel lit the lamp Wednesday night in a loss to the Minnesota Wild, but he clearly can't do it all himself. As a team, the Sabres rank 30th in goals for, with a mere 2.36 per game.

Neither young star has enough help from his supporting cast, and that's the real problem. While Eichel could be scoring a bit more, neither player should be the scapegoat for his team's difficult start.

Both players are still appointment viewing every night they take the ice, and even more so when they face each other. Friday's matchup gives the two franchise cornerstones another chance to show it, and should serve as another reminder that they're not to blame.

(Analytics courtesy: Corsica Hockey and Natural Stat Trick)