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Philadelphia Flyers winger Scottie Upshall will be sidelined for 10 to 14 days after suffering a slightly sprained right knee in Sunday’s 3-2 shoot-out loss in New Jersey, general manager Paul Holmgren told the Philadelphia Inquirer Monday.

Upshall was injured early in the second period when he collided with the Devils’ Bobby Holik. He did not return to the game.

The Flyers are banged up on the front line. Center Danny Briere is out until early January with a groin injury, and center Glen Metropolit has missed the last two games with a slightly strained lower back.

Holmgren, whose team hosts Ottawa Tuesday night, said he would not know until today if the Flyers would recall a player (Andreas Nodl?) from the Phantoms to replace Upshall.

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Patrice Bergeron, concussed Saturday for a second time in less than 14 months, remained at his downtown condominium Monday, surrounded by his parents, who drove down from Quebec City as planned Sunday to celebrate the NHL Christmas break with their 23-year-old son.

According to Bergeron’s agent, Kent Hughes, the hard-luck center isn’t likely to comment to the media for a few days, opting instead to spend a quiet week with his parents and hope that his all-too-familiar symptoms dissipate quickly, according to the Boston Globe.

"He’s laying low," said Hughes, who spent time with Bergeron Saturday night, in the hours after the collision, and on Sunday, when Bergeron was released after overnight observation at Massachusetts General Hospital, "and I guess you could say he’s probably frustrated."

The Bruins confirmed Sunday that Bergeron suffered a concussion in the collision, which means he must miss at least a week, in accordance with standard NHL protocol. Based not only on his severe concussion last year, but also on the club’s conservative approach in his return from that injury, it’s highly unlikely he will suit up again until early January, at the earliest.

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The arrival of Mats Sundin in Vancouver means defenseman Mattias Ohlund likely will be staying with the Canucks, new deal or not, the Toronto Sun reported.

There was a belief GM Mike Gillis might try to force Ohlund to waive his no-movement clause if he refuses to sign a new deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. That’s not good news for the Senators. Ohlund has been Ottawa GM Bryan Murray’s No. 1 target all season as he looks for a puck-moving defenseman.

Now with the arrival of the big Swede, it’s doubtful Ohlund would accept a trade from a team that’s suddenly a contender. It’s believed Sundin will play with right wing Pavol Demitra.

"Great move for Vancouver," a league executive said. "They get the best player available for free."

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A Thrashers-Wild blockbuster could be in the works, according to the Toronto Sun.

Denials will come from Atlant Thrashers GM Don Waddell and Minnesota Wild counterpart Doug Risebrough (they always do), but the whisper around the NHL is that those teams have been discussing a huge deal involving superstar forwards Marian Gaborik and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Risebrough has been shopping Gaborik all season, but it has been tough to find a taker because of his injury history. The talk is the Thrashers might have an interest if they can get Gaborik signed to a long-term contract, but the asking price would be high.

There’s a belief the sides have been talking about sending Gaborik and Kim Johnsson to the Thrashers in exchange for Kovalchuk and Colby Armstrong.

It’s believed Waddell was in L.A. last week to see the Wild play the Kings and Ducks.

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A sellout crowd of 17,565 in Boston sat in near silence after Patrice Bergeron, felled in a second-period collision with Canes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg in open ice, needed 3-4 minutes to regain his feet after taking the force of the hit directly to his head and banging his head hard upon falling to the ice, according to the Boston Globe.

Bergeron, who missed the remainder of last season after sustaining a Grade 3 concussion on Oct. 27, 2007, required assistance to regain his feet, but he ultimately skated off under his own power and then made his way slowly down the runway next to the Boston bench and into the dressing room.

"He said he could skate himself," said veteran center Marc Savard, who initially served as a crutch at Bergeron’s right elbow, while Chuck Kobasew propped up the left side. "So that was a good sign."

As of late yesterday afternoon, the 23-year-old Bergeron was at a local hospital for evaluation, suspected to have suffered a concussion and undoubtedly out of service for at least the next couple of games (tonight in St. Louis and Tuesday in New Jersey).

The Bruins, as is their wont, provided scant information about the injury, coach Claude Julien offering little more than the fact that the center was "a little dazed" by the hit, and promising the club eventually would release details about his condition.

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There’s a reason so many experts in the preseason considered the Dallas Stars a team of some relevance: When this squad can put a healthy roster together, it actually looks pretty good. So as players trickle back into the lineup and the injured list gets shorter, the Stars are hoping that maybe they can take on the look of a contender once again.

"I think you just see glimpses of changes where things are a little different," coach Dave Tippett said Friday as his team boarded a plane for its two-game trip to Canada, which begins tonight in Ottawa. Obviously, getting some of these players back makes a big difference in that regard."

The Stars on Thursday saw the return of Steve Ott (hand), Joel Lundqvist (shoulder) and Stephane Robidas (jaw) and instantly became a more physical team in a 6-5 shootout win against Columbus.

They could get Jere Lehtinen (upper back) tonight against the Senators, and that will probably make them a better defensive team. Brian Sutherby (groin) could get into the lineup Tuesday at Toronto, and that could give the Stars extra push in both physicality and smart defensive play.

So there does seem to be a light there somewhere.

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Sami Salo has gone from tweak to tweak to week to week. The Vancouver Canucks defenceman was examined Thursday afternoon after being crunched into the endboards Wednesday by Edmonton Oilers captain Ethan Moreau, the Vancouver Province reported.

Salo was favouring his right shoulder and left ribcage area following the collision and didn’t return after absorbing the blow with two minutes remaining in the second period. Salo is expected to go on injury reserve today, which means he would be sidelined at least a week.

"I don’t know exactly what happened, all I know is when he came into the trainer’s room he was in a lot of discomfort," said defenceman Shane O’Brien, who suffered a charley horse injury against the Oilers, but expects to play Saturday against Chicago.

Even if it’s just one ailment for Salo, it will be his 34th career injury in 10 years.

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Sergei Zubov had a hip procedure prior to training camp in the hopes of regaining health. Now his season is over. Zubov will have surgery on that problematic hip in early January, sidelining him the remainder of this season. Zubov will have the procedure in Colorado, where he recently consulted doctors, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The 38-year-old defenseman has played in just 10 games this season with four assists; he last played on Nov. 28 against San Jose. Co-general manager Les Jackson didn’t think this meant Zubov’s career was done.

"He wants to play. That’s why he’s getting it done now," he said.

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The New York Islanders are bad again. Maybe they are not as awful as they were eight seasons ago, when they lost 51 games, but they are plummeting out of contention fast, the New York Times reported.

"We’re desperate to get out of this," Bill Guerin, their 38-year-old center and captain, said.

Tuesday’s wrenching overtime loss to Washington was their seventh defeat in a row, dropping the Islanders’ record to 10-18-3, 14th in the NHL’s 15-team Eastern Conference. Loyal fans are considering wearing bags over their heads.

But at least they are still going to games. In wintry weather Tuesday, the Coliseum was about half-full, perhaps 8,000 fans, although the crowd was announced at 11,655. Officially, attendance has dropped only slightly this season to an average of 13,195, which is about 2,000 more than in 2000-1. Nevertheless, the Islanders are last in the 30-team league in attendance.

It was not supposed to be this way. Scott Gordon, 45, a coach with solid American Hockey League credentials, was hired Aug. 12 to put in an aggressive forechecking system, but the Islanders have been damaged by injuries.

"We’re there at times," Gordon said Tuesday, "but when we get going in the right direction in one area, we’re not in another."

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Chris Osgood sat out practice Wednesday because of a sore groin.

"He’s got tightness in his groin," Mike Babcock said. "Now I’m going to say to you it’s not a big deal and then you’re going to say to me, that usually means 10 days, and I’m going to say, "Yeah, you’re right.’ I don’t have any idea. But anytime it’s with a goalie, it’s a concern."

Ty Conklin will get the start tomorrow against the Sharks. Babcock didn’t know if it’ll be necessary to call someone up to back up Conklin. With 22 players counting against the salary cap (Darren McCarty, out with a groin injury, is on long-term injured reserve), the Wings wouldn’t have to do anything to the roster to make room for a call-up."

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