If you were in HSBC Arena on Saturday afternoon or watching on television when Thomas Vanek

crashed into the end boards late in the first period and did a one-legged hobble off the ice,

your thoughts probably went something like this:

That looked bad. Really bad. As in end-of-postseason bad.

Vanek is doubtful for Game Three against the Boston Bruins on Monday night in TD Garden. But the

news coming from the Buffalo Sabres' optional skate Sunday morning in HSBC was surprisingly

upbeat.

Vanek and coach Lindy Ruff insist the star winger will play again in this series. And Vanek

is even pointing at Game Four on Wednesday night.

The Sabres haven't classified the injury as anything but "lower-body." Vanek said nothing

is broken, leading to the likely conclusion he's dealing with a severe sprain of the left

ankle. He favored it off the ice after the collision with Boston's Johnny Boychuk and had a

pronounced limp Sunday. He did not skate.

"I'm still hoping for [Monday night] even though I know deep down it's a stretch," Vanek said.

"I would say Wednesday then. If it's not Wednesday then, I don't know. Maybe the next game

[Friday]. But the good part is that I feel like and we feel like I'll be back for the series."

Vanek traveled with the team to Boston on Sunday afternoon. He said he hasn't ruled out

trying to skate during today's morning skate.

"[Sunday] there's no way I could skate," Vanek said. "But we're doing a lot of treatments

on it to make it better. I'm hoping to skate on it."

Vanek had six goals over his last four games and was the hottest forward in the NHL after a

disappointing season that saw him finish with 28 goals. Boychuk chopped him on the right knee

as Vanek was breaking in on Boston goalie Tuukka Rask.

Vanek went down and Boychuk appeared to be on top of his left leg as they piled into the

boards. Vanek could put no pressure on the leg as he struggled to get back to the bench.

"When a player comes off like that, you obviously think the worst," Ruff said. "That was my

initial thoughts. But then after the game, finding out he had been looked at, I was pleasantly

surprised the damage isn't severe."

"It was tough, especially the way Thomas has been playing," said Derek Roy, Vanek's center.

"He's been so solid for us at both ends of the rink. He's been scoring goals and being such a

hard-nosed player who was tough to go against. It was definitely a blow but those things

happen in playoffs."

It's the second time in a week Vanek has taken a severe chop on a breakaway. Andy Sutton

got him last weekend in Ottawa in a play that resulted in a penalty shot and Vanek converted

that for one of his four goals in the game, his first game back from a groin injury.

Vanek was diplomatic when asked about Boychuk's intent.

"It's just part of the game," Vanek said. "It's a tough play. He's trying to defend me.

Obviously he got me pretty good and he got penalized for it. The other one against Sutton I

didn't lose my balance, which was good. This ended up a little worse."

Ruff said the Sabres could be looking at a recall from Portland Monday night (likely Nathan

Gerbe or Mark Mancari). The other possibility is the return of Drew Stafford from the

concussion he suffered last week.

Stafford, who was scheduled to undergo further testing Sunday, said he was feeling better

and could be cleared to play.

"It was pretty scary," Stafford said of Vanek's injury. "I'm glad he's OK and we'll see what

happens on his injury front. It's another case of bad luck for him, coming back scoring 30

goals in five games, whatever he got [actually, six goals in four games]. Pretty talented

player to come in and do that. It's a tough break for him but hopefully he can be back sooner

rather than later."

The Sabres had a 2-0 lead in the game when Vanek went down. They didn't score on the

ensuing power play on Boychuk's penalty and the Bruins eventually rallied for a 5-3 win that

evened the series at a win apiece.

"Sometimes when your key player goes down like that, there's a little bit of a letdown,"

defenseman Henrik Tallinder said after the Game Two defeat. "You can't really explain it. That

line was going pretty good for us. Thomas was going good. You're obviously disappointed."