Buffalo Sabres All-Star Thomas Vanek will be sidelined three to four weeks after having surgery Sunday to repair a fractured jaw.
Vanek, whose 32 goals ranks third in the league, was hurt in the
first period Saturday night in Ottawa after being struck in the
face by a slap shot by Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov.
The Austrian native clutched his bloodied mouth and immediately
skated off the ice and into the Sabres dressing room.
The injury comes just as the Sabres appear to be hitting their
stride. They've won two of their last three, and are 11-5-1 in
their last 17 games to move into seventh place in the Eastern
Conference, three points ahead of eighth-place Carolina.
