December 29th

OVER THE WEEKEND INJURY REPORT


STAJAN WILL MISS A WEEK AFTER FREAK MISHAP

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without forward Matt Stajan for at least a week after he was struck in the right eye with a soccer ball during a pre-practice warmup on Saturday.

Stajan suffered a hyphema, caused by a pooling of blood, in his right eye when he was hit while some members of the team were using the ball in the hallway -- something they regularly do. One report said Stajan was simply watching and not participating.

General Manger Brian Burke said the injury is not serious and expected the Toronto centre to be out for seven days or so while fluid drains from the eye, and added the exercise won't change.

"I'm not going to eliminate soccer (warmups) because one guy gets a ball in the eye", Burke said.



SABRES PLACE GAUSTAD ON IR

The Buffalo Sabres placed centre Paul Gaustad on injured reserve over the weekend because of an upper-body injury and recalled left wing Tim Kennedy from Maine of the AHL.

Gaustad, placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 17, has missed four games since he was injured against New Jersey, and also missed the first nine games of the season due to a thumb injury that required surgery.

Gaustad has three goals and seven points in 22 games this season.

Kennedy leads AHL rookies with 22 assists, and also has seven goals in 29 games for Portland, Buffalo acquired Kennedy in a draft-day trade with Washington after he was selected 181st overall by the Capitals in 2005.



HIP SURGERY TO END KARIYA'S SEASON

St. Louis Blues winger Paul Kariya will have surgery on his left hip and likely will miss the rest of the season.

The 34-year-old hasn't played since Nov. 5 in Anaheim, when his body was wrenched by a hit from behind and he tore muscle fibres near the top of his thigh. He had apparently recovered form the initial injury and skated with the team during Christmas week but cut his workout short on Friday after only about 10 minutes.

An MRI revealed additional damage inside the hip and Kariya and the Blues elected for surgery over the weekend after consultation with several doctors.

Team President John Davidson said there was no timetable for Kariya's return, and surgery had not yet been scheduled.

In the second season of a three-year, $18-million deal, Kariya has two goals and 13 assists in 11 games. In 914 regular-season games with Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, and St. Louis he has scored 384 goals and registered 562 assists.

The St. Louis Blues, last in the Western Conference with a 13-18-3 record, have been bitten by the injury bug quite bad this season starting with number-one overall pick Erik Johnson who had a season-ending knee injury in a pre-training camp golf outing accident. The Blues also have had forward Andy McDonald (broken ankle), defenceman Eric Brewer (back surgery) and goalie Manny Legace (hip, concussion) suffer extended absences due to injuries.



CANUCKS PYATT OUT WITH BROKEN FOOT

The Vancouver Canucks will be without Taylor Pyatt for an indefinite period of time after the winger suffered a broken right foot against the Edmonton Oilers.

The injury looked to happen late in the second period when Pyatt's right skate caught a Willie Mitchell slap shot from the front of the Canucks net.

Pyatt has four goals and six assists with a minus-six rating in 36 games played this season.