Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner is out three to four weeks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Saturday.
Skinner, 27, suffered the injury Friday in his 700th career game while trying to check the Bruins‘ David Pastrnak with 15:51 remaining in the third period. The two-time All-Star selection laid on the ice for a bit before getting up and skating off to the Sabres’ bench.
The 10-year veteran is fifth on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 8 assists. He scored a career-high 40 goals last season, which led to an eight-year, $72 million deal with the Sabres.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” teammate Jack Eichel told reporters after the Sabres’ 3-0 loss. “You never want to see anyone go down. Obviously Skins is a big part of our team so you don’t want to see him go down. Hopefully he’s alright.”