BUFFALO, N.Y. — – Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel is considered day-to-day, and starting goalie Linus Ullmark will miss at least the team’s two-game weekend series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the meantime, coach Ralph Krueger still wasn’t ready Friday to say whether high-priced forward Jeff Skinner will resume playing after a three-game benching.
Krueger listed Eichel as questionable to play against the Flyers on Saturday. He was a last-minute scratch after experiencing a lower-body injury during the pregame warm-ups before Buffalo’s 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
Krueger said Ullmark is still being evaluated to determine the severity of a lower-body injury he suffered in the first period against the Devils. Ullmark appeared to be hurt six minutes in but continued playing in stopping all 15 shots he faced before not returning for the start of the second period.
Skinner skated on the Sabres’ fourth line in practice Friday, which was a promotion after he worked out with the team’s taxi squad members a day earlier. Krueger declined to reveal whether Skinner would return, only saying only that he would be available to play on Saturday.
Except to say that it’s not a disciplinary issue, Krueger has declined to detail the reasons behind his decision regarding Skinner. The 11th-year player and seven-time 20-goal scorer hasn’t scored in 18 consecutive games dating to last season and is in the second year of an eight-year, $72 million contract.