Weekes was hurt last Friday during the 5-4 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning when he was hit in the leg by a shot from Evgeny Artyukin (Bolts).  Since the playoffs begin next week, it’s possible that he will miss the first couple games.  In the meantime, the Devils have called Scott Clemmensen up from the AHL to be a backup to Martin Brodeur.

The Devils are currently leading the Atlantic Division so I’m sure this isn’t the best time to have Weekes out of the lineup but, if Clemmensen can rise to the occasion, this could be a real opportunity for him to prove himself.  Then again, Brodeur might just play as many playoff games as possible so who knows if we’ll even see NJ use a backup.

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Goaltender, Ryan Miller, suffered an ankle sprain on Saturday in a game against the New York Rangers.  The severity of the injury is not known yet but I’m sure the Buffalo Sabres are hoping their netminder will be back in action sooner than later.

Miller was injured when Scott Gomez took him down behind the net.  He wobbled over to the bench without putting pressure on the leg.  "It’s stiff and it’s tender," Miller said after the game. "These are things you have to kind of feel out. There’s no timetable, really. It’s your comfort level. Right now I just want to get through the night till the morning and see how my body reacts. I’ve had a few ankle sprains in my time, and each one’s been different.  We’ll see how this one plays out."

I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that Buffalo coach, Lindy Ruff, was not happy with Gomez: "I don’t think there’s any secret it was deliberate," Ruff told reporters. "He knew what he was doing."

I haven’t heard whether the NHL is looking into this but I doubt it.  The incident is on this highlight reel.  Check it out and tell me if you think Gomez deliberately took out Miller.  I’m sorry, I think Gomez did that on purpose.

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Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres suffered a fractured jaw and will need surgery to repair it.  The red-hot player is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks.  He was injured when he was hit in the face by Anton Volchenkov’s (Ottawa Senators) slapshot.

"He was in a lot of pain," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "The teeth got pushed up a little bit."

This comes at a particularly bad time with Vanek having an incredible year – he’s third in the league for goals scored (32) and his team needs him to help secure a spot in the playoffs.

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"We’ll see how big it is when they open me up," Holmstrom said. "Hopefully it’s a small tear. Last time they said it was a small tear and it turned out to be bigger than I thought. But if I do this, I can start skating in two to three weeks and get at least 10 games in before the playoffs."

The Washington Capitals will have to do without goaltender, Brent Johnson, for the next 6-8 weeks. 

The netminder will need to have surgery sometime next week.  In the meantime, the Caps, who currently sit in fourth place in the League overall, are going to have to find a good replacement as a backup to goaltender, Jose Theodore, to make sure they can continue their great push towards making the playoffs.

As back-ups go, Johnson was doing pretty well with a record of 12-6-2 , a GAA of 2.81 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

Defenceman, Lubomir Visnovsky, has been placed on the injured list by the Edmonton Oilers.  During his team’s 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, Visnovsky injured his right should and didn’t travel with the team for their three-game road trip.  It’s a bit of a blow to the struggling Oilers since he has eight goals and 23 points in 50 games this season and ranks 13th in scoring among NHL defencemen.  Hopefully, it’s nothing serious.

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Pascal Leclaire

The netminder has only appeared in 12 games so far this season and has posted a paltry 4-6-1 record with a 3.83 goals-against average and .867 save percentage.

Hopefully, the surgery will help bring Leclaire back to the playing level that we know he’s capable of. 

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Now, the New York Islanders have announced that the netminder will be sidelined for the remainder of the season to to post-surgical knee “issues.”  Wow… remember a couple years ago when this guy sat out of some crucial pre-playoff games with “general all over body achiness”?  Yeah….

Dude is in his third year of a $67.5 million, 15-year deal and, so far, he’s been on the couch A LOT.  Honestly, I’m not a fan of those huge deals and this is an example of why.  Well, hopefully, after all that rest, he’ll be able to come back next season and play for most of it.  That’d be a miracle at this point.

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Last night, the Washington Capitals visited the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins and delivered quite the spanking.  Ovechkin picked up three points with two goals and an assist in the victory.  Crosby also made an effort and picked up two assists before leaving the game after colliding with David Steckel along the boards.

Even though Crosby later told reporters that he didn’t think the injury was serious, it hurt him enough that he limped off the ice and never returned to the game.  Let’s hope Sid is right.  The Pens can’t afford to lose him at this point.

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Rivet had been out for almost a month with a shoulder injury in the 3-2 loss against the Montreal Canadiens on November 29, 2008 but could be playing tonight against the visiting Ottawa Senators.

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The St. Louis Blues will likely be without left wing, Paul Kariya, for the rest of the season due to hip injuries that will require surgery.  Kariya remained optimistic that the injury would not end his career: ”I’m confident that when it’s taken care of, I’ll get to 100 per cent.”

The 34-year-old player had been out of the lineup since getting injured on November 5, 2008 in a game against the Anaheim Ducks but had been skating with the team until he experienced discomfort during a workout on Friday. 

Kariya is in the second season of a US$18-million, three-year contract.

After just being reactivated for one whole game, New York Islanders goaltender, Rick DiPietro, is on the injured list AGAIN!  I don’t know about you but, if I were Isles management, I would be pretty stressed about having signed this guy for 15 years and have him be on his couch more than on the ice.

What’s wrong now, you ask?  A brand new groin strain.  Seriously?  Okay, so he’s had surgery on his hip in March 2008, on both his right and left knees since June 2008 and now he’s having groin issues.  Of course, he’s had other problems in the past too.  I’m just talking about 2008.  Wow…

Taylor Pyatt has been placed on the injured reserved for an indefinite amount of time after the Vancouver Canucks winger broke his foot during a game against the Edmonton Oilers (Canucks lost) last Friday.  The injury most likely took place after he took a slap shot to the right skate.

Pyatt has four goals and six assists so far this season in 36 games.

A freak eye injury has landed Matt Stajan on the IR list.  The Toronto Maple Leafs forward was hit in the eye with a soccer ball (see?  I knew soccer was more dangerous than hockey!) during a practice on Saturday.  Stajan suffered from blurry vision and it was determined that he suffered a hyphema in his right eye and will have to rest for one to two weeks.  It’s too bad that this happened when it did because Stajan has been on fire lately posting 6 points in his last 4 contests. 

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Goaltender, Cam Ward, has been placed on the injured reserve by the Carolina Hurricanes.  The netminder who, in 18 games posted a 2.68 GAA and a .911 save percentage, is suffering from a groin injury.

Toronto Maple Leafs d-man, Luke Schenn, has been knocked out of the lineup for at least two weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

Niklas Hagman, also of the Leafs, left Saturday night’s game after getting a knee to the head and did not return.  There have been no updates regarding his status or the nature of his injury.

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