Buffalo Sabres defenseman Henrik Tallinder, barely back from a broken arm, is out again with a high right ankle sprain.

"Here we go again," Tallinder said Thursday, a day after he was hurt in a 6-3 loss at Ottawa. "I don't know what to say, I'm just frustrated right now."

Tallinder was hurt late in the second period when he fell awkwardly after being checked behind the Sabres net by Dany Heatley. The game was Tallinder's sixth back after missing 24 with a broken left arm.

Tallinder said he expects to miss two weeks, which could take him through the NHL All-Star break, which begins Jan. 21. The Eastern Conference-leading Sabres have nine games before the break, starting Friday at home against Pittsburgh.

"He's pretty sour, which is understandable, but it's better now than later in the year," coach Lindy Ruff said.

Tallinder was Buffalo's steadiest defenseman last season before he broke his arm - the same one he hurt this season - during the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina in May.

A five-year NHL veteran, he has two goals and three assists in 16 games this season, and was coming off a career year in which he had six goals and 15 assists in 82 games.

Rookie defenseman Nathan Paetsch will be back in the Sabres' lineup after being a healthy scratch since Tallinder returned. Paetsch has seven assists in 24 games this season.