Lindros Sidelined Four to Six Weeks

Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers will be sidelined the rest of the regular season and at least one round of the NHL playoffs while recovering from his fourth concussion in two years.

Lindros was diagnosed with a concussion that was more serious than originally thought and will be sidelined four to six weeks.

“We always want Eric to be in the lineup, but more important we want Eric to be healthy,” Flyer Coach Craig Ramsey said Wednesday. “If he is out 30 days and it makes him healthy then it’s good for us.”

Lindros was unavailable for comment.

The 27-year-old center was hospitalized March 15 for treatment of recurring headaches after he was hit in the jaw by Hal Gill of the Boston Bruins on March 4.

Lindros underwent tests on his brain, and played four more games.

He sat out a March 13 game at Phoenix before being hospitalized two days later. He had been barred from practicing or playing pending another examination.

James Kelly, a neurologist at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago, examined Lindros on Tuesday and concluded he had a Grade II concussion, which can cause memory loss and require a longer recovery time.

Last week, Flyer team physician Jeff Hartzell said Lindros had a Grade I concussion, the least-severe category.

Hartzell asked Kelly if Lindros’ injury was career-threatening.

“He did not think events as they played out over the last three weeks posed any threat to Eric as a hockey player or as a person,” Hartzell said. “He said this is not the threshold for retirement. A number of players have had that many concussions and more.”

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Detroit 2, Calgary 2--Pat Verbeek became the 28th player in NHL history to score 500 goals, getting two for the Red Wings at Detroit.

St. Louis 2, Carolina 1--Al MacInnis scored a power-play goal with 2:13 to play at Raleigh, N.C., as the Blues tied a franchise record with their 47th victory.

The Blues won their NHL-best 25th road game, tying the franchise victory mark set in 1990-91. They are 13-1-1 in their last 15 road games.

Atlanta 1, Montreal 1--Damian Rhodes, who gave up six goals in 19 minutes Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators, made a career-high 48 saves for the Thrashers at Atlanta.

“Having a good third period boosted my confidence going into overtime,” said Rhodes, who made six saves in the extra period as the Thrashers ended an 11-game home losing streak. “I’m a better goalie when I get more work, and maybe I proved that tonight.”

San Jose 4, Vancouver 3--Jeff Friesen scored with 4:09 to play, completing the Sharks’ comeback from a 3-2 third-period deficit at San Jose.

N.Y. Islanders 5, Toronto 2--Claude Lapointe and Maruisz Czerkawski each scored two goals for the Islanders at Toronto.

Around the League

Scott Thornton of the Dallas Stars was suspended for three games by the NHL for high-sticking Marco Sturm of the San Jose Sharks. . . . Coach Roger Neilson of the Philadelphia Flyers, who underwent cancer treatment March 10, could be released from the hospital as early as tonight. . . . Bryan Berard of the Toronto Maple Leafs, recovering from surgery on his severely damaged right eye, is expected to be released from a New York hospital today.