The center left in the second period of the Golden Knights' 5-3 win against the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday after blocking a shot with his hand.
Coach Peter DeBoer said Friday the Golden Knights did not have the test results yet and called Eichel doubtful for their game against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, BSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"Big concern," DeBoer said Friday. "I mean, you know, it could be anywhere from a couple days to more than that, so I won't know until we get results."
The Golden Knights acquired Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 4. He had an artificial disk replacement, a surgery that had never been done on an NHL player before, Nov. 12.
Eichel has scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 15 games since his Vegas debut Feb. 16, second on the Golden Knights to forward Jonathan Marchessault, who has scored 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 14 games during that span.
Losing Eichel would be a blow at a time when the Golden Knights are already without their No. 1 goalie (
Robin Lehner
), two of their top four defensemen (
Brayden McNabb
and Alec Martinez) and three of their top six forwards (
Mark Stone
, Max Pacioretty and
Reilly Smith
).
Vegas (33-26-4) ended a five-game losing streak Thursday and holds the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Dallas Stars.
"As a staff, we've tried not to let the discouragement of the daily news update on what's going on creep into our messaging to the team," DeBoer said. "But, you know, it's the leadership in that room, and it's not just the guys playing. It's the guys that are hurt that are walking around selling hope."
Lehner hasn't played since March 8 because of a lower-body injury. He is 21-15-1 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.
"Heading in a positive direction," DeBoer said Friday. "I think he's excited to get back. I don't have a timeframe yet, but I don't think it's far off."
McNabb hasn't played since March 3 and has scored 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 55 games. Martinez hasn't played since Nov. 11 and has three assists in 11 games. Each has an upper-body injury.
Stone hasn't played since Feb. 8 because of a back injury and has scored 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in 28 games.
Pacioretty hasn't played since March 11 because of an undisclosed injury and has scored 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games.
Smith hasn't played since March 8 because of an undisclosed injury and has scored 38 points (16 goals, 22 assists) in 56 games this season.
"It's been nonstop," DeBoer said. "We dealt with it the first half of the year, and you thought, well, we've had our share. But it keeps coming."
Forwards Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden returned to the lineup Thursday after Janmark missed 10 games and Howden seven, each with an upper-body injury.
Center Nolan Patrick returned in a 6-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury.
"I think even with our goal-scorers, we try and play a scrappy game, so we're not changing our identity, but we need different people to step up," DeBoer said. "It's funny, but one or two good NHL players make a difference when you add them back in the lineup. You saw us add Howden [on Thursday] and Patrick the other night and Janmark [on Thursday], so that's three guys off our list. That changes our team. … Hopefully we get some more bodies back and can stay in the mix here."
Defenseman Derrick Pouliot debuted for Vegas on Thursday after signing a one-year contract. The 28-year-old, who had played 202 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues, was playing for Henderson of the American Hockey League.
"I think we're now 10 or 11 defensemen deep into the organization, so it's really taken a toll," DeBoer said. "We've run out of [left-handed] shots, so a left shot was a priority, and he's played 200 NHL games. He's got that composure that you can stick him in at this time of year against a team like that and he's not going to feel overwhelmed. We needed him."
NHL.com independent correspondent Paul Delos Santos contributed to this report
