Head coach Claude Julien told the media after practice Wednesday that defenseman Mark Stuart suffered a broken sternum Monday night against the Flyers and will be out four to six weeks.
Also, Julien said that fellow blue liner Dennis Wideman, who didn't play in the third period of Monday's 3-1 loss to the Flyers, was absent from practice and will not leave for Chicago with the team this afternoon due to an undisclosed injury.
Derek Morris missed practice as well but it was apparently just a maintenance day.
"That's tough news for him and for us," Julien said of Stuart's injury. "He got hurt on a hit and he actually finished the game. But anybody who knows Stewie knows how tough he is — and he was in pretty good pain there afterward, so that's what they discovered [the break] yesterday."
Julien did say that Wideman could join the team later on the three-game road trip that starts in Chicago and goes through Toronto (Saturday) and Ottawa (Monday).
Here's what the lineup looked like at practice:
Forwards
Marco Sturm–Marc Savard–Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Byron Bitz
Steve Begin–Vladimir Sobotka–Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara — Johnny Boychuk
Andy Wozniewski — Andrew Ference
Matt Hunwick — Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
