Berard’s Eye Injury Mars Maple Leaf Win

Defenseman Bryan Berard of the Toronto Maple Leafs suffered a serious eye injury after he was struck with a high stick Saturday night that left him bleeding on the ice.

Berard, who was hospitalized overnight, was injured in the second period of the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Kanata, Canada, when he was clipped under the right eye by the stick of Senator forward Marian Hossa.

“There is going to be an operation on his eye,” Toronto Coach Pat Quinn said. “This is serious.”

Berard, in his fourth NHL season, crumpled to his knees with his forehead on the ice as blood pooled until medical personnel could reach him.

“The stick caught him under the right eye and there is some fear there is damage to the eye,” said Casey Vanden Heuvel, the Leafs’ director of hockey operations. “It took a considerable amount of time to get the bleeding under control.”

Another club official said it was suspected Berard suffered a damaged orbital bone.

“He is going to be put under general anesthesia to determine what has to be done. We expect there will be an update [today],” Vanden Huevel said.

Hossa received a double minor for the infraction.

“Of course, if it’s serious, I’ll call and apologize,” Hossa said.

Phoenix 5, Vancouver 0--Sean Burke stopped 26 shots in recording his second consecutive shutout and Trevor Letowski scored two goals at Phoenix.

Boston 5, Montreal 3--Brian Rolston scored the winner in the third period at Montreal, ending the Canadiens’ three-game winning streak.

Washington 4, New Jersey 2--Ulf Dahlen scored the winner with 18:18 to play and Olaf Kolzig stopped 33 shots for the Capitals at Washington.

Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Rangers 1--German Titov, Rob Brown and Robert Dome scored at Pittsburgh as the Penguins rebounded from consecutive shutout losses.

Chicago 5, Florida 2--Boris Mironov scored a short-handed goal as the last-place Blackhawks surprised the Panthers at Sunrise, Fla.

Around the NHL

The Atlanta Thrashers returned minor league defenseman Mikko Kuparinen to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Chris McAlpine. . . . The Washington Capitals retired Dale Hunter’s No. 32.