Sharpen Up: March 10, 2021 | Eichel to miss time with upper-body injury

The Buffalo Sabres couldn't hold on to a pair of two-goal leads and it ended up resulting in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last night at Wells Fargo Center.
Buffalo went 0-4-1 on their five-game road trip and they'll next take the ice tomorrow when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center.
The Sabres are 0-6-2 over their last eight games and 2-10-2 since returning from a COVID-related two-week pause in mid-February.
We'll look back at last night's game and give you a quick preview of what's ahead in today's Sharpen Up.
Here's what you need to know.

Let's start with an injury update

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury.
Sabres coach Ralph Krueger announced after last night's game that Eichel was already back in Buffalo for further evaluation.

"We have an upper-body situation that needs some deeper analysis before [we] decide further," Krueger said of Eichel's status moving forward.
Eichel was ruled out for the game before the morning skate. He's missed three games this year (and was also held out of the first stages of training camp) due to various injuries.
On the season, Eichel has 18 points (2+16) in 21 games.

Last night's recap

We have the full Postgame Report for you at this link, which features five big takeaways.
To kick things off, let's hear from Sam Reinhart, who scored twice, but only cared about the result.
"We're not at the point [where] we're not taking moral victories from being close in games right now," he said. "That's the sad reality of it. Right now it's just disappointing we couldn't find a way to get a win."
Reinhart increased his team-leading goal total to 11. He also now leads the club with 19 points. Riley Sheahan and Brandon Montour scored as well last night while Jonas Johansson made 29 saves.
The Flyers scored an early goal first, but the Sabres responded and ended up with a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. However, the Flyers made a goalie change to start the second period as Brian Elliott replaced Carter Hart, and Philadelphia went on the attack right away.

They trimmed the lead to 3-2 and then Montour scored for Buffalo to regain the two-goal lead. But Philadelphia kept coming. They scored just as a power play expired in the second to get back within one and then scored on the man advantage with 5:46 left in regulation to tie things up.
"There's no real point to speak about the good things that happened that got us there because we didn't close the deal," Krueger said. "But there were some bright lights within the game that we need to take with us."
In Eichel's absence, Dylan Cozens moved to center and pivoted a line featuring Reinhart and Taylor Hall.
"I think he looked like a natural fit there, obviously playing there the majority of his life," Reinhart said. "Really liked his game tonight just like most nights out of him."

Hall picked up assists on both of Reinhart's goals. However, the bigger picture was on his mind during his postgame interview. Buffalo (6-14-4) is currently last in the NHL with 16 points in 24 games (.333 points percentage).
"If you let them have the puck all night, it's not advantageous to you," Hall said. "So, we have to learn how to play with a lead and just go play. I mean, let's be serious, we're a lot of points out of the playoffs, we should just be playing loose and just going and playing free."

What's next?

The Penguins are in town for a pair of games starting tomorrow night. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550. Catch the pregame show on MSG at 6:30. Pittsburgh has won three in a row and seven of their last 10 games.
Buffalo will once again wear their Reverse Retro jerseys on Thursday.