The Ottawa Senators are going to be without goaltender Craig Anderson at least into the early part of next week.
Senators general manager Bryan Murray said on Friday that his number one netminder was experiencing pain in a different part of his ankle than he felt Thursday night, but he could be back between the pipes in three to four days.
On that recovery timeline, Anderson could possibly return next Thursday against the Boston Bruins, the first of a five-game road trip.
The 31-year-old goaltender was injured early in the third period of Thursday's 3-2 shootout victory over the New York Rangers when forward Chris Kreider was tripped in front of the net and slid into him.
Anderson was then helped to the locker room and replaced by backup Ben Bishop who would go on to collect the victory.
"My heart sank into my stomach when it happened," said Senators defenceman Marc Methot after the victory on Thursday. "It's the last thing we need. He's basically been the heart and soul of our team, or at least a large part of it. It's unfortunate, but it's the luck we're getting right now as a team."
Anderson leads the league with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage.
