Buffalo Sabres place Jeff Skinner on IR with upper-body injury

The Buffalo Sabres just can’t seem to get their top line all healthy at the same time. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch have returned from injury, but now it’s Jeff Skinner’s turn to miss games. On Friday, the Sabres placed their top left winger on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, according to Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News.

Skinner was hurt in Wednesday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche when he took a heavy hit from superstar center Nathan MacKinnon:

Skinner, 31, is tied for the team lead in goals with 12 and sits second in points with 22. On a Sabres team struggling to find its way into the Eastern Conference playoff mix, his absence will be felt. Over the previous two seasons, he scored 33 and 35 goals, respectively, and he notched a career-best 82 points last season. Skinner, like the entire Sabres team, hasn’t been as effective this season. Buffalo iced the NHL’s No. 3 offense last season but has tumbled all the way to 25^th in a disappointing campaign.

The Sabres finished last season with a 42-33-7 record and .555 points percentage, missing the playoffs by a single point with 91. This season, they’ve started 12-15-3, regressing to a .450 points percentage. They sit four points back of a Wildcard spot with 25, but the Washington Capitals, who occupy that playoff position, have played five fewer games.

Skinner has been a durable player for most of his career, playing 82 games four times and missing four games combined over his previous two seasons. Since he debuted as a teenager in 2010-11, winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, only 14 NHLers have played more games. Skinner’s 345 career goals place him eighth in the NHL over that span, tied with Jamie Benn.