Jason Spezza, the Ottawa Senators top center, will undergo a surgical procedure on his back.

The Senators have tweeted the following statement from general manager Bryan Murray: "Jason Spezza is out indefinitely. Will have back surgery in Toronto on Friday."

According to reports, the surgery is not considered to be major. Murray is currently holding an 11 a.m. press conference.

Spezza has missed the past two games with what the team is terming an upper-body injury that occurred sometime during Ottawa's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Spezza, a four-time 30-goal scorer, has been a point-per-game player this season, with two goals and three assists in five games.

Steve Sullivan

Left Wing - PHX

GOALS: 4 | ASST: 1 | PTS: 5
SOG: 10 | +/-: -3

Sullivan did not skate Wednesday morning and will sit out the game with the Edmonton Oilers with a lower-body injury. He one of five major cogs who will miss the game, along with goalie Mike Smith (groin), center Martin Hanzal (lower body) and defenseman Rostislav Klesla (lower body) and winger Raffi Torres -- who still has two games left on his suspension dating back to last year's playoffs.

The Coyotes have only 11 healthy forwards for the game and will dress seven defensemen against the Oilers.

LAS VEGAS -- Just when I think this trip can't get any better, the bar gets set even higher for the next day.

The highlight Wednesday was getting a chance to take a faceoff against The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky. I was called for my first shift and there he was, skating out there at the same time. And, right then and there, I knew I was going to be taking a draw with Gretzky.

The ref dropped the puck and I won the faceoff, and nearly created a scoring chance for myself as well. That's a memory of a lifetime.

At 1:02 of the third period in the Canadiens/Senators game video review upheld the referee's call on-ice that Lars Eller directed the puck into the net with a high stick. According to Rule 60.5 "An apparent goal scored by an attacking player who strikes the puck with his stick carried above the height of the crossbar of the goal frame shall not be allowed. The determining factor is where the puck makes contact with the stick." No Goal Montreal.

Coach Dave Tippett had high hopes for an early return after watching Smith practice on Wednesday.

"I'd be surprised if he's not ready by the weekend," Tippett said.

Smith is eligible to be activated from injured reserve on Friday. Phoenix has a home-and-home series with Dallas on Friday and Saturday nights.

The San Jose Sharks are 6-0, with Joe Pavelski having points in each game. The forward stopped by Cisco NHL Live to talk about his and the teams hot start.

The Ottawa Senators will be without defenseman Sergei Gonchar for Wednesday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens due to what the team says is a lower-body injury.

Gonchar did not take part in Ottawa's optional skate Wednesday morning, but coach Paul MacLean made no mention of Gonchar's injury during his meeting with the media after the skate.

The 38-year-old defenseman played 25:05 and scored the winning goal with 2:30 remaining in regulation Tuesday night as the Senators beat Washington 3-2.

There is no word on how long Gonchar will be sidelined.

Buffalo forward Patrick Kaleta was released from the hospital Wednesday after an overnight stay following a hard hit late in the first period of Buffalo's 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Kaleta was sent home and will not travel to Boston for the Sabres' game against the Bruins on Thursday.

Kaleta, who has a history of head and neck problems, was driven into the boards by Toronto's Mike Brown, who was assessed a minor penalty. Kaleta skated off awkwardly with 2:26 left in the period and did not return.

New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan will miss 10 to 14 days after injuring his shoulder in Tuesday night's game against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden.

Callahan, who scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory, was injured early in the third period during a scuffle with Philadelphia forward Max Talbot.

After undergoing an MRI on Wednesday, the Rangers said Callahan was diagnosed with a subluxation of his left shoulder. Callahan was dragged down by the arm by Talbot and immediately skated off the ice. His left arm dangled as Callahan went down the tunnel to the locker room.

Callahan's second-period goal gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead and was the 200th point of his NHL career.

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche is shaking up its lines to try and shake an early funk – and a much longer skid against the Vancouver Canucks.

Coming off consecutive losses, winless in three road games, still missing captain Gabriel Landeskog to injury, and facing a team they haven't beaten in regulation in 17 tries, Colorado moved third-line center John Mitchell into the top-six as a left wing and inserted call-up Michael Sgarbossa to make his NHL debut in Mitchell's usual spot.

"Just shake it up a little bit and see what happens," coach Joe Sacco said. "With Gabe being out just thought I'd change it up a little bit."

Sacco didn't have an update on his captain and usual top-line left wing Landeskog, who returned from a big, high hit in San Jose on Saturday and finished the game, but did not dress in Edmonton on Monday night. He is still with the team and watched part of the Canucks morning skate Wednesday from the tunnel outside the Avalanche locker room, but did not take part in Colorado's skate an hour later.

"Same status," Sacco said of Landeskog. "Head/leg injury and no timetable as far as returning."

Without Landeskog, Sacco hopes Mitchell will add "a little more jam" to Stastny's line, something he noticed from the trio after making the switch in the third period of a 4-1 loss to the Oilers. The hope is that leads to more power play opportunities for the Avalanche, which is averaging three chances per game and giving up a little more than six.

"It's fair to say we need to do a better job of playing inside the dots, getting to the net more, making the opposition tug us down," said Sacco, who liked the way his team is playing five-on-five but has seen them give up seven power play goals the last two games.

"Our Achilles heel has been our penalty kill," Sacco said. "Even when we do a pretty good job of killing a penalty it seems to end up in the back of our net. No excuses, we have to be better in that area."

Here are the rest of the new Colorado lines as the Avalanche tries to end a 0-15-2 skid against the Canucks on Wednesday night:

Jamie McGinn – Matt Duchene – PA Parenteau

John Mitchell – Paul Stastny – David Jones

Chuck Kobasew – Michael Sgarbosa – Milan Hejduk

Cody McLeod – Mark Olver – Patrick Bordeleau

Erik Johnson - Ryan Wilson

Greg Zanon - Matt Hunwick

Ryan O'Byrne - Jan Hejda or Tyson Barrie

Semyon Varlamov

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Scratched: Shane O'Brien and Tyson Barrie or Jan Hejda

Injured: Gabriel Landeskog, Steve Downie

Notes: Sacco said O'Brien, a former Canuck, would sit out for the fifth time in six games for sure, but as "still deciding" between Barrie or Hejda as his sixth defenseman.