The Sabres have a silver lining left this season: Jack Eichel

The Buffalo Sabres and their fans don’t have much to look forward to over the rest of this season, but the possible return of Jack Eichel is a glimmer of hope.

At this point, with a 20-34-11 record, the lowest point total in the Eastern Conference and the worst goal differential in the NHL (-57) entering Sunday, the Buffalo Sabres are playing out the string this season. A 4-5-1 mark over Buffalo’s last 10 games, with Jack Eichel out, qualifies as progress in Phil Housley’s first season as head coach.

Eichel has been out since suffering a sprained right ankle on Feb. 10. A four-to-six week recovery timetable made a return before the end of the season possible, and the Sabres’ leading scorer has taken a step toward that goal.

According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Eichel skated on his own Saturday for the first time since being injured. That’s a nice sign of progress, but Eichel is not ready to practice with the team and has no timetable for a return to action.

Housley’s words reflected caution on Sunday.

“We don’t want to put him under that sort of pressure,” Housley said. “He has skated. He started skating yesterday so that’s good to see him start making progress.”

Despite being out nearly a month now, Eichel still leads the Sabres in goals (22), assists (31) and, of course, points (53) over his 55 games this season. Center Ryan O’Reilly is second on the team with 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists). Buffalo’s second-leading goal scorer, Evander Kane (20 goals) was traded to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline.

There’s a case for Eichel to sit out the rest of the season even if he is healthy, with the 21 games he missed early last season with a similar injury to his left leg in mind. But if he is able, expect Eichel to play:

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As another season with dreams of a high draft pick instead of a playoff spot winds down, Sabres fans have a potential silver lining. Its initials are J.E.