The 22-year-old center did not play in a 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday and will not play at the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The Buffalo captain, who was injured in the first period of a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday, will be re-evaluated next week.
"Obviously, Jack's a big part of our team," Sabres coach Phil Housley said before the game Thursday. "It's a day-to-day situation, which is really encouraging. But we want to be cautious with it as well. There's a lot of hockey to be played."
Eichel, named to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Wednesday, leads Buffalo with 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 40 games this season. He had 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in the 23 games since his line with Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart began playing together Nov. 13. The Sabres were 12-7-4 during that stretch; at least one of the three scored in all but four of those games.
"There's an opportunity there," Skinner said. "Everyone in here plays in the NHL, so it's a good challenge for us. Obviously, it's a big hole to fill but we're going to try to fill it by committee."
