DEC.05.06

The Canucks bench was noticeably roomy last night after the first period in their 4-0 loss against the Oilers.

Sami Salo, Taylor Pyatt, and Rick Rypien all left for the locker room but didn't return to the ice.

Salo, who's missed three games with a lower body injury in early November and sat out one in October with a groin injury will likely be sidelined again.

"Sami's got a burner with a lot of spasms on his neck so we're not quite sure exactly what the extent of the injury is until the spasms leave," said Alain Vigneault this morning after practice. "At this time, if we're positive, we'd say seven to ten days but we're only going to know in 48 hours."

A burner is a common nerve injury resulting from trauma to the neck and shoulder where a burning pain travels down the arm, often accompanied by numbness and weakness. Symptoms are usually short-lived, but severe injuries can last for weeks or months.

"I just got hit and that's about it," said Salo. "It's just one of those things when you're body's in the wrong position, it's unfortunate but good thing it's not very serious."

"It's a lot better than it was yesterday but we'll see tomorrow and how it feels."

Salo has 14 points in 23 games and has a team-high plus 6 rating.

Pyatt, who suffered a hit yesterday will be out two to four weeks with a second degree AC sprain. A second degree sprain means it is only a partial tear of the joint located on the top of the shoulder.

In the Canucks last five games, they have scored five goals, two of which come from Salo and Pyatt.

In 27 games, Pyatt's already improved on the numbers he put up last year with nine goals, second behind Markus Naslund.

Rick Rypien, who has played one game with the Canucks, is, again, hit by the injury bug.

"His MRI got done this morning but it looks like it's a partial tear of groin so we're looking at anywhere from six weeks to two months," said Vigneault.

A thumb injury cut his training camp short earlier this season, and though he impressed Vigneault, a groin injury down on the farm further delayed his NHL career.

Rory Fitzpatrick, who's missed 11 games with a cracked a bone in his ankle skated briefly before the team practice but is still expected to need a few more weeks before retuning to action.

With a hole in the Canucks defence, another body is needed to fill the space on the blueline.

"It would look at this time that [Yannick] Tremblay would be the guy coming up and forwards we've got 12," said Vigneault. "With these injuries and everything else, we're right against the cap so it's going to be hard."