Sabres' Jack Eichel: To begin skating with team soon

Eichel (ankle), who has skated on his own seven times, will be practicing with the team soon, Amy Mortiz of The Buffalo News reports.

Analysis:

This is excellent news for the Sabres, who have lost six of their past seven games and are having a lot of trouble scoring with top center Ryan O'Reilly (oblique) out of the lineup. Eichel has yet to play this season after suffering a high-ankle sprain, but should make an impact right away even if he has to shake off some rust. Eichel is still a couple weeks away from returning, but it will be sooner than later.