The Buffalo Sabres announced that star forward Jack Eichel is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was scratched from the lineup just prior to Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The news was announced late Thursday evening before the puck dropped.
Sabres forward Jack Eichel will miss tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury.
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) December 19, 2019
Jack Eichel to Miss Time With Injury
An injury of any sort is devastating for a player of Eichel’s calibre. The 23-year-old is one of a small number of players who has eclipsed the 50 point mark this year in the season. Eichel has 24 goals and 50 points in just 35 games. This is the sort of season that puts players in the Hart Trophy conversation. He is on pace to easily surpass last year’s 82 point effort with a sizzling 1.43 points per game. Prior to this injury, Eichel was on a 17 game point streak.
Eichel has been one of the team’s brightest bright spots since he was drafted second overall in the 2015 draft behind Connor McDavid. He has 309 points in 321 career games and is a huge part of why Buffalo is second in the Atlantic Division behind only the Boston Bruins. However, the Sabres will need to battle to remain in that spot. Four other teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are within two points of taking Buffalo’s place in the standings.
Head coach Ralph Krueger said on Eichel, “It was something that evolved in warm-ups, so we‘ll just look at the situation and get back to you tomorrow on that. … Let’s not speak about the specifics right now. We’ll fill you in once we’ve assessed the situation.”
What This Means for the Future
It is unclear what is troubling Eichel so we do not know how long he might be out. The Sabres will hope that Eichel is back as soon as possible. He has been far and away their best player this season. Eichel has been a large reason why the Sabres have done so well this season, and they would hope that he won’t miss any major time as it could have serious implications for the playoff picture.
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