Sabres news: Eichel to be out at least a week, maybe longer

Yesterday came with more bad news for the Buffalo Sabres. It was announced that Sabres captain Jack Eichel is going to miss at least a week with an upper-body injury, but some believe that his absence could be longer than just a week. Eichel will leave a sizable hole in the Sabres lineups while he is out.

Eichel has been underwhelming so far this year. Through 21 games, Jack has only scored two goals, but he has recorded 16 assists for a total of 18 points on the season. Even though he has not performed up to his standards up to this point, he is still a crucial player in Buffalo.

The Sabres replaced Eichel with rookie Dylan Cozens in last night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Without Jack, Buffalo’s top line consisted of Cozens at center and Taylor Hall and Sam Reinhart. And that line produced a good amount of offense.

Reinhart tallied two goals in the first period. Hall assisted on both of Reinharts goals. Cozens added an assist to his stats in his first start as a top-line center this season. These three looked to have some really nice chemistry, and it showed with two even-strength goals. If this line continues to offer this type of production, it will be hard to break them up, even when Eichel is healthy again.

There is no reason why this line wouldn’t be able to stay together when Jack returns. I would like to see Eichel be paired up with Victor Olofsson and Jeff Skinner. We have seen Eichel and Olofsson be a lethal pairing on the power play for the Sabres. Skinner had his best season in Buffalo alongside Eichel. So that pairing could produce some more chances for Skinner to succeed and produce some numbers that are closer to what we have been used to seeing from him.

Jack Eichel being out for what could be long-term is a tough blow for the Sabres. But, it is giving some other players an opportunity to step up, especially Dylan Cozens. Hopefully, we continue to see this new top-line gain chemistry going forward.