The past year has not been kind to Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel, who until very recently was unable to play hockey due to a herniated disc in his neck.
Though he was able to recently return to the ice, that return may have been short lived. During a game on Thursday night, Eichel appeared to be in pain after blocking a shot in the second period. After finishing his shift, he headed down the tunnel and didn’t return for the remainder of the game. As of Friday afternoon, the team has yet to officially announce details of the Jack Eichel injury, but head coach Pete DeBoer seemed quite concerned when speaking with media.
“We don’t have test results yet,” DeBoer said. “He’s getting test results this morning, we’ll know more, I would say, by the end of the day. I would say doubtful for tomorrow.”
“Big concern. It could be anywhere from a couple days to more than that. I won’t know until we get results.”
It goes without saying, but losing Eichel for any period of time would be a significant blow to this club, who has battled the injury bug all season long. They are currently without a multitude of players in Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Reilly Smith, Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Ben Hutton and Robin Lehner, which is a big reason why they are currently sitting fourth in the Pacific Division.
While seeing Jack Eichel leave with an injury was frustrating, it wasn’t all bad news for the Golden Knights on Thursday. They were able to snap a five-game losing skid with a 5-3 win over one of the NHL’s top teams in the Florida Panthers, and as a result have reclaimed a wild card position in the Western Conference. Expect to hear an update on Eichel by Friday evening or Saturday morning at the latest.
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