Lowly Sabres lose leading scorer Eichel

Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel has a sprained right ankle, and coach Phil Housley said it’s premature to rule out Buffalo’s leading scorer for the remainder of the season.

Housley said Eichel will miss four to six weeks, putting the player in a position to return in the final weeks of the season even though Buffalo might not have much to play for at that point. The Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference standings and sit 19 points out of the playoff contention with 27 games left.

“We’ve still got a lot to prove this season still,” Housley said before Buffalo’s 5-4 home loss to Colorado Sunday night and a day after Eichel was hurt in a 4-2 win at Boston. “We’ve still got a lot of games at home here left. We want to win these games not only for our fans but to build on things.”

Eichel was hurt in the first period while attempting to play the puck behind the Bruins net. He was checked from behind by Boston’s Matt Grzelcyk and fell awkwardly into the boards.

Eichel leads Buffalo with 22 goals and 53 points in 55 games in his third season since being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft. Eichel became the franchise’s highest-paid player after signing an eight-year, $80 million contract extension in October. The contract kicks in next season.

Eichel missed the first 21 games of the 2016-17 season with a sprained left ankle.

The injury depletes the offensively challenged Sabres of their most consistent threat, and who’s production has heated up over the past two months. Eichel has 15 goals and 34 points in his past 30 games, and was part of a power-play unit that has converted 13 of its past 39 chances.

“Yeah, it’s difficult, especially the way he’s been playing the last two and a half months,” Housley said. “He’s really come into his own.”

Avalanche

Colorado’s leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon missed his sixth game with an upper body injury. Coach Jared Bednar said MacKinnon has been skating at home and has a chance to return soon. The Avalanche played its 1,500th road game in team history Sunday and 2,999th overall, including the franchise’s tenure as the Quebec Nordiques.

Kings

Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown was suspended for one game without pay for kneeing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Brown was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for kneeing in the second period of the Kings’ 4-3 loss Saturday night at Tampa Bay. The suspension will cost Brown $31,586.

Rangers

Backup goalie Ondrej Pavelec will miss 2-3 weeks because of a sprained MCL. Pavelec, 30, has played in 16 games for the Rangers this season, his first in New York, and has compiled a 4-71 record with a .910 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average.