Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel will miss at least one week with an upper-body injury, head coach Ralph Krueger said.
Eichel missed Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. He returned to Buffalo to be evaluated, Krueger said.
Eichel favored his neck after being checked into the end boards by Casey Cizikas with about four minutes left in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday.
The injury is the latest to affect Eichel this season. He missed two games two weeks ago with a lower-body injury, and he missed the first week of training camp with an upper-body injury.
Having topped 20 goals in each of his first five seasons, including a career-best 36 last year, Eichel has scored just twice in 21 games this season and is in the midst of a 13-game scoring drought. With 16 assists, he still leads Buffalo with 18 points.
With a league-low six wins, Buffalo is in jeopardy of extending its playoff drought to an NHL-record matching 10th season. The Sabres last won Feb. 23 against New Jersey.