"Bad news: It looks doubtful the Sabres' winger plays tonight against the New York Islanders and his status is probably the same for Saturday's game against Atlanta.

Vanek skated as normal with linemates Derek Roy and Drew Stafford through the team's 40-minute workout in the Amherst Pepsi Center. He looked OK to most observers but not to the one who counted the most.

"A trained eye saw differently," said coach Lindy Ruff. "He was getting through practice pretty good but to be fullbore he's a little bit of a long shot."

Vanek was hurt in the second period of Tuesday's 6-2 win over Detroit. The Sabres have called the injury only an upper-body ailment but it's believed to be to Vanek's ribs.

"The pain is something I can always deal with," Vanek said. "It's about me being smart and not getting it worse. When it happened, obviously I was hoping it was not broken which it's not. That's a good sign so it's just being smart about it now."

Ruff did admit Vanek was "doing not bad" in his first day on the ice. Especially since the coach said after the game Vanek might be out weeks."