Hecht Loses Part of Ear in Sabres’ 4-3 Victory

Buffalo Sabre forward Jochen Hecht lost part of his right ear after being struck in the side of the head with a puck Saturday night.

“It’s not a pretty sight,” Sabre Coach Lindy Ruff said. “Once we get him off the [trainer’s] table, and I don’t think he’s off yet, we’ll see how he feels.”

The Sabres rallied to beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3, at home when Adam Mair and Dmitri Kalinin scored 68 seconds apart late in the third period.

Hecht was hurt seven minutes into the third period after the Sabres won a faceoff deep in the Capital zone. Hecht, who wears a protective visor, was tumbling to the ice after appearing to lose his balance, and was hit by teammate Brian Campbell’s point shot.

Hecht, bleeding from his right ear, remained face down for a number of minutes before he was helped off the ice with the assistance of teammates and trainer Jim Pizzutelli.

Ruff didn’t know the extent of Hecht’s injury or whether he sustained a concussion.

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Toronto 1, New Jersey 0 -- Ed Belfour made a season-high 38 saves for his league-leading fifth shutout, and Travis Green scored at Toronto.

Belfour, 37, earned his fourth shutout in nine games and the 63rd of his career, the most among active goalies. New Jersey outshot the Maple Leafs, 38-14.

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Boston 3, Tampa Bay 2 -- Bryan Berard tied the score when his shot deflected off Andre Roy’s skate in the third period, and Nick Boynton scored the winner 3:11 into overtime at Boston.

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St. Louis 3, Philadelphia 1 -- Martin Rucinsky and Al MacInnis scored first-period goals, and Fred Brathwaite made 24 saves for the Blues at Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has gone a franchise-record 16 consecutive games without scoring more than three goals.

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Ottawa 5, Carolina 2 -- Martin Havlat scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period, and Brad Smyth and Petr Schastlivy had power-play goals late in the third period at Ottawa.

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New York Islanders 6, Pittsburgh 3 -- Michael Peca scored his first two goals this season and linemate Brad Isbister had a goal and three assists at Pittsburgh.

Mario Lemieux scored his 13th goal for the Penguins.

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Edmonton 4, Florida 0 -- Jussi Markkanen stopped 22 shots at Sunrise, Fla., for his first shutout this season.

Markkanen, the backup to Tommy Salo, started for the sixth time this season. He posted his first shutout since March 4, 2002, and the third of his career.

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Montreal 4, Phoenix 2 -- Richard Zednik scored his team-high 13th goal and Jeff Hackett made 29 saves to help the visiting Canadiens end a four-game winless streak.

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Minnesota 4, Vancouver 2 -- Marian Gaborik recorded his third hat trick this season and the fifth of his career to assume the league lead with 18 goals, and the visiting Wild ended a five-game winless streak.

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Nashville 4, San Jose 2 -- Andy Delmore scored a power-play goal early in the third period at San Jose, and the Predators won consecutive games for the first time this season.