The Buffalo Sabres announced that left-winger Jeff Skinner is sidelined for three to four weeks with an upper-body injury.
Jeff Skinner will be out with an upper-body injury for 3-4 weeks.
Details: https://t.co/tCraNtuneT pic.twitter.com/tIZE5qw9jz
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 28, 2019
Jeff Skinner Injured
Skinner left the game after an awkward collision with the Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak during the third period of their game on Friday. Skinner did not return to the match.
So far this season, Skinner has scored 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points to go along with 14 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 51.0 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 1.2 percent.
Over his ten-year NHL career, Skinner has played for the Carolina Hurricanes in addition to the Sabres. He has 255 goals and 206 assists for 461 career points in 700 career games. He was originally drafted by the Hurricanes in the first round, seventh overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
What This Means for the Future
Skinner hasn’t been nearly as productive for the Sabres as he was last year, but he was still an important offensive part of a team that grossly lacks secondary scoring. If he gets hot, he can put pucks in the net (he had 40 goals last season), but obviously, that’s impossible if he’s out of the lineup.
Buffalo sits in a very tight Atlantic Division playoff race, standing one point behind the Montreal Canadiens for third place and tied with the Florida Panthers for fourth. Buffalo’s put up 115 goals on the season, while Montreal and Florida have put up 121 and 127, respectively. The difference in the offence will hamper Buffalo over this crucial stretch, as they don’t have anyone else suitable on the roster to step into his role.
This provides a bit of an opportunity for the Sabres’ Casey Mittelstadt. The once highly-touted prospect has spent a bit of time in the minors lately. A hole in Buffalo’s lineup could provide him with the opportunity to rediscover his game.
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