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Silver lining Weight will not miss significant time with ankle injuryPosted: Monday February 03, 2003 3:40 PMSUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) - St. Louis Blues center Doug Weight is expected to miss up to 10 days after suffering a left ankle injury Sunday when he was hit by a slap shot in Sunday's All-Star Game. Weight, who is second in the league with 44 assists, was injured with 16 1/2 minutes left in regulation. He took a slap shot off the stick of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ed Jovanovski. On Monday, the 31-year-old Weight underwent an MRI and the results were negative. He was diagnosed with a deep bone bruise in his left ankle and will be sidelined seven to 10 days. An extended loss of Weight would have been a huge blow to the Blues, who have played all season without injured captain Chris Pronger, a former Hart and Norris Trophy winner. They are 28-15-6-4 and lead the Central Division by two points over the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. "We've been through so many injuries this year as it is. We were hoping that we weren't going to have anymore," defenseman Al MacInnis said on Sunday. Weight leads the Blues and is tied for ninth in the NHL in scoring with 55 points. However, the four-time All-Star is mired in the longest goal-scoring drought of his 12-year career, a 28-game dry spell that dates to December 5. Also on Monday, the Blues recalled defenseman Christian Backman and center Eric Nickulas from the Worcester IceCats of the American Hockey League. Backman, 22, has 21 points in 50 games for the Ice Cats this season. The 6-4, 204-pound defenseman - St. Louis' first-round selection in the 1998 NHL draft - played in four preseason games with the Blues this season, recording two penalty minutes. Signed as a free agent last summer, Nickulas has 13 goals and six assists in 25 contests with Worcester this season. The 27-year-old, who was named the team captain at the start of the season, is fourth on the IceCats in goals and is tied for first with three game-winning goals. Nickulas was originally Boston's fourth-round pick in the 1994 NHl draft. He made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 6, 1999 against Toronto.
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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