"Whoever had Game 6 in the Sami Salo injury pool, you are a winner.

The Vancouver Canucks' often-injured defenceman went down again Sunday, surviving only three shifts before leaving his team's National Hockey League playoff game against the Chicago Blackhawks due to an undisclosed injury.

Clearly upset, Salo didn't stop to talk to a reporter after the game. And Canucks coach Alain Vigneault didn't want to share information — "think I'm going to tell you?" — which was better than fibbing, and saved himself further pantsfire.

But either Aaron Rome or out-of-favour Keith Ballard will probably have to come into the lineup for Game 7 on Tuesday (7 p.m., CBC, Team 1040), one day after defenceman Andrew Alberts returned from a wrist injury.

These weren't ideal circumstances for Alberts to play his first game in nearly two-and-a-half months, thrown into a frantic playoff game and then forced by Salo's injury to play a few extra minutes.

"It's tough getting back to the pace of play, especially in the playoffs," Alberts said. "You get out there, get your feet wet and you kind of learn on the job again. It didn't end up the way we wanted it to. They were spotting me in and out depending on line changes. It was tough on the other four Ds. I got my time in there when I could and tried to help out."

Alberts logged 14:55 of ice time and, although he was reasonably solid, got turnstyled by Blackhawk Jonathan Toews on one rush and made a wide turn in overtime on Marian Hossa, who held off Alberts and teed up Niklas Hjalmarsson's point shot that led to Ben Smith's rebound winner."