"The Buffalo Sabres got great news Wednesday when they discovered star winger Thomas Vanek was not as seriously injured as first believed.

Head coach Lindy Ruff feared after Tuesday night's 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings that Vanek would be out for "weeks" with what had only been described as an "upper body injury."

But that diagnosis apparently changed dramatically overnight.

"He came today a lot better. He may be available to play on the weekend," Ruff told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "Maybe not Friday, but Saturday. Although I'm not ruling him out for Friday, either."

That's potentially a huge break for the Sabres, who can ill afford to lose Vanek, a two-time 40-goal scorer, for a long period. Buffalo struggled last season with Vanek and goalie Ryan Miller both injured for long stretches.

Vanek's shoulder was not in a sling when he left the locker room after the game ended and he was believed to have had X-rays of his ribs, The Buffalo News reported Wednesday.

Vanek did not return after scoring his second goal of the game against Detroit at 12:46 of the second period."