Kings rally past Panthers

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Kings F Smyth could miss a month

The Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday announced that forward Ryan Smyth could miss up to a month with an upper-body injury.

Smyth suffered the yet-to-be diagnosed injury during Monday's game against the Florida Panthers.

The 33-year-old was off to a fast start in his first year with the Kings, totaling nine goals and 23 points in 22 games.

Kings place Smyth on IR

The Los Angeles Kings placed forward Ryan Smyth on injured reserve Monday with an unspecified upper-body injury.

The club had previously revealed last Wednesday that Smyth could miss up to a month with the injury, apparently suffered in last Monday's contest against the Florida Panthers.

The 33-year-old was off to a fast start in his first year with the Kings, totaling nine goals and 23 points in 22 games.

Florida Panthers (7-9-2) at Buffalo Sabres (12-4-1), 7 p.m.

The first-place Buffalo Sabres will aim for a fourth straight victory when they welcome the Florida Panthers for this evening's battle at HSBC Arena.

The Sabres lost consecutive outings for the first time this season from November 6-7, but have responded with three straight victories. Buffalo has won four in a row on two occasions already this year and can match that season-high winning streak tonight.

Buffalo hasn't played since Saturday, when it notched a close road win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Thomas Vanek and Paul Gaustad both scored on the power play as the Sabres edged Philadelphia, 3-2, at Wachovia Center.

Panthers closer to playoffs

Bryan McCabe and Rostislav Olesz each had a goal and an assist, and Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves to lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-2 NHL victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night.

David Booth and Ville Peltonen also scored, and Jay Bouwmeester had two assists to help the Panthers move into a tie with the idle New York Rangers for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Florida, vying for its first playoff berth since 2000, has 89 points with three games remaining. The Rangers hold the edge over Florida because they have one more victory.

Pascal Dupuis and Mark Eaton scored for the Penguins, who needed a victory to clinch a playoff spot. Sidney Crosby traded punches with a Florida player for the second time this season after Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard upended Evgeni Malkin with a low check late in first period. Crosby, who fought Brett McLean during a Jan. 3 game, received a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and a major for fighting.

Spezza spurs Senators

Jason Spezza returned after missing 20 games with a knee injury to score the winner in the second period and the surging Ottawa Senators earned their sixth straight NHL victory, 2-1 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

The loss was the fourth in a row and seventh in the past eight games for Boston, which has lost four straight for the first time since December 2007. The Bruins, in danger of slipping out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference, have lost five in a row at home, the first time the club has lost five straight regulation home games since 2000.

The win was the Senators' second in six days in Boston after they lost the first four games of the season series to the Bruins, who were booed by their fans at the end of the game.