OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators will be without Dany Heatley for up to six weeks after the superstar forward suffered a separated right shoulder.
Heatley suffered the injury when he crashed hard into the end boards with Detroit forward Dallas Drake in the second period of Saturday's 3-2 victory over the Red Wings. He was slouched over when he left the ice, favouring his shoulder.
The loss of Heatley is a crushing one for the Senators (29-10-4) despite their seven-point lead atop the Eastern Conference. The 26-year-old has 56 points (25 goals, 31 assists) in 43 games this season, good for seventh place in the NHL scoring race. Heatley is also second in the league with a plus/minus rating of plus-31.
Sunday's game against the New York Islanders marks the first game Heatley will miss since coming to the Senators in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers in August 2005. Heatley had played in 205 straight games with Ottawa, recording 264 points (125 goals, 139 assists) over that span.