Sabres may be without Eichel vs. Avalanche (Feb 11, 2018)
Another lost season for the Buffalo Sabres may have taken a difficult turn.
The Sabres could be without leading scorer Jack Eichel when they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.
Eichel left in the first period of Buffalo's 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday with a lower-body injury after an awkward fall. First-year coach Phil Housley did not update Eichel's condition after the game.
"We'll have to re-evaluate it (Sunday)," Housley told the Buffalo News, which noted that Eichel's injury was to his right leg and that he could not put any weight on it as he headed to the locker room.
It would be a huge blow if Eichel is sidelined.
The second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft leads the team with 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points. Eichel also recorded at least one point in all five of his career matchups with Colorado, totaling two goals and four assists.
The Boston University product appeared in every game this season after missing the first 21 contests last season with an ankle injury.
"He does so much for us and to see him go down it's obviously tough," said Sabres center Scott Wilson, who had a goal and an assist Saturday.
Buffalo (16-29-10) is looking to match a season high with its third straight win but is last in the Eastern Conference and all but assured of missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season.
The Sabres are 1-7-2 against Central Division opponents, however they're also in position to sweep a season series. Buffalo topped Colorado 4-2 on Dec. 5 in Denver.
The Sabres have won three of the last four meetings with the Avalanche after losing 10 straight between 2007 and 2016. Over the last four meetings, Eichel leads Buffalo with two goals and three assists, and Ryan O'Reilly collected five helpers. Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart each notched three goals.
O'Reilly -- a member of the Avalanche from 2009-15 -- needs two points to reach 400 for his career. He's tied with Kane for second on the club with 37 points.
After Chad Johnson stopped 25 shots Saturday, Robin Lehner (12-20-7, 2.84 goals-against average, .913 save percentage, three shutouts) will likely get the call.
Lehner, who made 35 saves against the Avs in December, is 3-2-0, 1.81, .943 with one shutout when facing Colorado as a member of the Sabres.
Johnson is 2-1-0, 2.00, .933 and one shutout against the Avalanche, but has not faced them since Oct. 30, 2014, when he was with the New York Islanders.
Colorado (29-21-4) is trying to end a three-game road trip on a positive note. After being drilled 6-1 by the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, the Avalanche gave up two third-period tallies in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
Colorado is 2-5-1 after reeling off 10 straight wins from Dec. 29 through Jan. 22, and 2-3-0 since losing leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon to a shoulder injury. The Avs have won six of eight from Eastern opponents in 2017-18.
"We've got to find another gear offensively," Colorado winger Gabriel Landeskog told the Denver Post. "It hasn't been good enough and we don't have much time right now. That's the beauty of it, we have a chance to rebound Sunday at Buffalo and then get back to home ice."
Landeskog and Erik Johnson are averaging better than a point per game in their respective careers against Buffalo. Landeskog has six goals with four assists in nine games, while Johnson, a defenseman, has two goals and six helpers in seven contests.
Landeskog missed the game against the Sabres in December while finishing a four-game suspension.
Jonathan Bernier started against the Blues and was pulled early, and Semyon Varlamov was in net against the Hurricanes.
Neither have fared well at KeyBank Center.
Bernier is 0-3-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage. Varlamov was pulled 4:42 into the contest on Feb. 14, 2016, after allowing goals on the first two shots faced his last time out.
Buffalo and Colorado don't play particularly well in the back ends of games on consecutive nights. The Sabres are 3-6-2 with defeats in eight of their last nine such games, while the Avalanche are 2-6-0, including losses in five of the last six.
