Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) keeps his eye on Vancouver Canucks left wing Alex Burrows (14) during second period NHL action in Vancouver, B.C. Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
Alex Burrows broke his jaw on Sunday afternoon when he took a puck in the face – but the fracture, and resulting surgery, was not diagnosed until much later and the winger finished the game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Burrows is expected to be out for four weeks, the Vancouver Canucks said on Tuesday. He woke up on Monday in pain and had surgery later that day.
The Canucks wrapup a four-game road trip in Nashville on Tuesday.
The loss of Burrows is a blow for a team that has lost more games than it has won, (14-10-5) and currently sits in ninth place in the Western Conference.
This is the second time Burrows has been injured this year. He broke his foot in the first game of the season blocking a shot and missed 12 games. And while in action, he hasn't had much luck either, unable to score a single goal this season.
Regardless, his absence will ripple through the Canucks lineup, as his spot on the first line with the Sedin twins goes vacant. Ryan Kesler has filled the role this year, but if Kesler moves back to the first line, the Canucks other lines go into a tumult, and secondary scoring becomes a huge issue, which exacerbates the team's difficulty this year in general scoring goals.
David Ebner