BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The upper-body injury that kept Sabres center Tage Thompson out of the NHL All-Star Game shouldn’t cause him to miss any regular season action.

Thompson is expected to practice on Friday and “should be ready” for Saturday’s home game against the Flames, coach Don Granato said on Thursday. Buffalo’s leading scorer skated on his own before the Sabres held their first practice following a weeklong All-Star break.

“Because of the break, the normal thing to do would put him through with the medical team and the skate, which he did today,” said Granato, adding that Thompson could’ve participated in Thursday’s practice but the team didn’t want to overload him. “And that skate was intense enough that we didn’t want him to do both.”

Thompson leads the Sabres with 34 goals and 68 points through 50 games. After first sustaining his upper-body injury in a Jan. 28 loss at Minnesota, Thompson missed one day of practice. He was able to play in Buffalo’s loss against Carolina on Feb. 1, but left the game after the second period.

“The break came at a great time for him,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said.

Buffalo has its best 50-game record (26-20-4) in 12 seasons since the franchise last reached the postseason, but the Sabres remain a few points out of the Eastern Conference wild-card race in an effort to end their NHL-record playoff drought.