Alex Tuch, Jack Eichel ready to rekindle friendship, rivalry

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alex Tuch and Jack Eichel have known each other since they were kids and played with and against each other numerous times during their careers.

But Thursday will be different, with most of the attention on Eichel’s return after he was traded to the Golden Knights from the Buffalo Sabres in November.

“It is a little weird being traded for one another, especially when you know a guy,” Tuch said Wednesday. “Obviously, there’s no friends out there once the puck is dropped and between the whistles, but it’s not like I’m going to be gunning for his head or anything like that. That’s not how it really works.”

Tuch and Eichel were both born in 1996 and played together at the U.S. National Team Development Program during the 2013-14 season. They were on opposite sides in college, with Eichel attending Boston University and Tuch going to rival Boston College.

Tuch played four seasons with the Knights after being acquired in an expansion draft trade, and the native of Syracuse, New York, was the centerpiece of the deal for Eichel.

Since returning from offseason shoulder surgery, Tuch has seven goals and 23 points in 26 games for the Sabres. That includes a goal in a 5-2 loss to the Knights on Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Arena when Eichel had yet to be cleared.

Tuch also took a slashing penalty, which led to some good-natured taunting from his former teammates after Jonathan Marchessault scored on the ensuing power play.

“It’ll be lifelong friends that I stay in touch with, guys that were part of a really important part of my life, so I’m really grateful that I had such a good group of teammates to be able to play with and grow with,” Tuch said. “I’ll be honest, I don’t hate hitting a couple of those guys, so it’s a little bit of fun just to get them going a little bit.”

PP changes

Assistant coach Ryan Craig is overseeing the Knights’ power play after assistant Steve Spott had been in charge of the struggling unit.

Craig took over before the game against Ottawa on Sunday and drew up a play during a timeout late in the Knights’ loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday. Evgenii Dadonov scored on a power play in the second period.

The Knights ranked 24th in the NHL at 18.1 percent entering Wednesday’s games. Craig ran the power play under former coach Gerard Gallant, and his best unit was in 2017-18 when it clicked at 21 percent.

“The way our staff works, everybody contributes everywhere,” coach Pete DeBoer said, “and sometimes we switch voices and messaging at different points just to grab attention back, especially when you’re getting 60 games into a season.”

Missing players

The Knights practiced at KeyBank Center without forwards William Carrier, Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith. Goaltender Robin Lehner also didn’t participate.

DeBoer said most of the absences were for maintenance, but added there will be game-time decisions Thursday.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.