Jack Eichel getting game back

WASHINGTON - The Buffalo Sabres held an optional morning skate in preparation for their game against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; CSN-DC, MSG-B, NHL.TV) and Jack Eichel was one of those who didn't participate.

Three games into his return from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for the first 22 games of the season, Eichel worked out off the ice and spent some time with the medical trainer. Although the 20-year-old center's ankle feels, "good enough for me to play," he said, "I don't sense it's going to be 100 percent for a while." So there's maintenance work he'll have to continue to do in the coming weeks.
Plus, with another game coming up against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers at KeyBank Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SNW, NHL.TV), Eichel has to manage his energy after such a long layoff.
"You take the days when you need them," he said. "With the back-to-back you take the time off the ice to try to take care of some other things that could be nagging. So I just do that."

Eichel has made things look easy since returning to the Sabres lineup Nov. 29 against the Ottawa Senators, with three goals and an assist in his first three games. But Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said he's already noticed the inevitable drop-off in energy players experience coming back after long layoffs.
"Game 1 he was all gassed up the first period in Ottawa and he didn't feel all that good in the second period," Bylsma said. "His adrenaline had dropped and he had come down. And I think in Game 3 he knew he didn't feel as well as he did in the first two games and that's fairly normal. You're jacked up on energy and adrenaline, you have a high and then he's feeling bumps and bruises and some aches and pains waking up after not having played for three months and then having played a couple games. He's going to go through that."
After a rookie season with 24 goals and 32 assists in 81 games, Eichel was looking forward to building on that this season and was eager to get started after playing for Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in September. Those plans were derailed when he injured his ankle in the Sabres' final practice before the start of the season.
"Coming out of the World Cup you have a lot of confidence," Eichel said. "You just came from playing a tournament against all of the world's best. You're just looking forward to heading back to your club and trying to be a key component to it and you get an injury that sets you back. It's unfortunate, but it's part of it."
McDavid, who was selected No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft, one spot of ahead of Eichel, went through it last season when he missed 37 games because of a fractured clavicle. McDavid missed the first game between the Oilers and the Sabres last season, on Dec. 6, 2015, and had to wait until March 1, 2016 to play against Eichel in Buffalo.
After the Oilers defeated the Sabres 2-1 in overtime, with McDavid scoring both goals, there was much anticipation for the first game between them this season, at Rogers Place on Oct. 16. But Eichel missed that one, a 6-2 Sabres victory.
With the game against the Capitals coming first, Eichel said he wasn't thinking much Monday about his rematch with McDavid on Tuesday.
"We have a big game tonight against Capitals, so I'm focusing on that one," he said.

Eichel, like everyone else, is well aware that McDavid has been lighting it up in his second NHL season and leads the League with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) 27 games.
"He's had a good year," Eichel said.
While McDavid has taken the next step in his second season, hitting the ice flying after also playing for Team North America in the World Cup, Eichel almost had to start from scratch with his training after he was injured. It also was difficult for Eichel, who felt separated mentally from his teammates at a time he was expecting to be playing alongside them.
"I think the worst part is just being away from the team, not traveling, not being with the team, not being on the same schedule," he said. "You're kind of by yourself. You feel a little bit lonely. That's probably the toughest part mentally."
It didn't make it easier for Eichel that the Sabres were hit hard with injuries and started 5-8-4. They've played better the past two weeks, going 4-2-1 in their past seven, including 2-1-0 since Eichel returned. But they're tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with 23 ponts (9-10-5).
"As a team you want to have a good start to the year," Eichel said. "To go through the injury struggles that we've went through early in the year already, it's a little tough on the morale. But it's a long year. So hopefully we'll be getting healthy soon and start playing with a full group and playing to the full potential that this team has."
Four points in his first three games back helped Eichel feel involved right away.
"It helps your confidence," he said. "It helps you get back in the swing of things and helps you feel good about your game. I've been fortunate so far in the first few games to get a couple of good bounces. I think if you just do the right things, good things will happen to you, so that's what I've tried to do."