Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore will miss the rest of the season with a fractured neck after a hit by Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi, prompting a police investigation.
Moore also sustained a concussion and deep facial cuts, the Avalanche said Tuesday. He will remain hospitalized in Vancouver indefinitely, Colorado trainer Pat Karns said. Bertuzzi has been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing at the NHL office in Toronto on Wednesday.
Moore was slugged in the side of the head by Bertuzzi late in Monday's game, a 9-2 Colorado victory. Bertuzzi struck him from behind and drove his head into the ice. Moore landed face-first -- with Bertuzzi on top of him -- and lay in a pool of blood for several minutes before he was removed from the ice on a stretcher.
B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman and Vancouver police said Tuesday an investigation has begun.
This will be the second time in recent years Vancouver police have become involved in an on-ice hit at an NHL game. Former NHL tough guy Marty McSorley was charged for hitting then-Vancouver Canuck Donald Brashear with his stick in February 2000.
The Avalanche said that when Moore's his condition improves, he will be transferred to Craig Hospital in Denver and evaluated by neurosurgeons.
"Steve knows he has the support of the entire Avalanche family and hockey fans throughout the world, and we hope that he recovers as soon as possible," Avalanche president and general manager Pierre Lacroix said.
While playing for the Boston Bruins, McSorley drew a one-year suspension for using his stick to hit Brashear on the side of the head. Brashear was knocked unconscious and missed 20 games with a concussion.
McSorley was tried in court and received a conditional sentence for assault with a weapon, but his one-year suspension from the NHL ended his 17-year career.
Flyers 3, Devils 1
John LeClair had a goal and two assists, and the Philadelphia Flyers opened a seven-point lead over New Jersey in the Atlantic Division with a 3-1 victory over the Devils.
LeClair set up goals by Mark Recchi and Kim Johnsson in a 2:28 span bridging the first and second periods as Philadelphia snapped a five-game winless (0-3-1-1) streak on the road.
"Our goal was to win our division," said Recchi. "We've got 11 to go. We've got an opportunity, if we have a big week, to succeed. We're still looking at the big picture, at what we have to do and what we have to get better at."
Robert Esche made 20 saves for the Flyers.
"I think we are proving to ourselves how good of a hockey team we have when we stay with the program and believe in it," Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said.
Turner Stevenson scored for the Devils, who have played two fewer games than Philadelphia with 13 left in the regular season.
Penguins 4, Stars 0
In Pittsburgh, Jean-Sebastien Aubin stopped 45 shots for his sixth career shutout as Pittsburgh snapped Dallas' nine-game unbeaten streak.
Aubin established a Pittsburgh record for saves in a shutout, his first since Oct. 12, 2002.
Matt Bradley and Aleksey Morozov scored 1:03 apart in the second period. Mike Eastwood and Jon Sim also scored for Pittsburgh, which owns the NHL's worst record, but is 5-2-1 in its last eight games. The Penguins have won three straight for the first time since Jan. 13-17, 2003.
Rangers 2, Thrashers 0
In Atlanta, Jaromir Jagr scored late in the first period and Mike Dunham recorded his second shutout of the season as the New York Rangers beat Atlanta for the first time in more than two years.
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