British Columbia's provincial health officer said Vancouver Canucks players jumped the line when they received swine flu vaccinations this week.

"If they got the vaccine and they weren't in any of the risk groups as individuals, then they were queue-jumping," Dr. Perry Kendall said yesterday. "I don't know why they queue-jumped because they only had to wait a few days."

The H1N1 vaccine will be made available to all British Columbians today.

The Calgary Flames were heavily criticized last month when players and their families received the H1N1 vaccine while thousands of Albertans waited in lines that stretched for hours. Two Alberta Health Services employees were eventually fired for helping set up the private clinic.

Carolina will be without goalie Cam Ward and All-Star center Eric Staal indefinitely. Team officials said yesterday that Ward was put on the long-term injured list, while Staal was placed on the injured list. Ward has been out nearly two weeks since his leg was sliced by a skate. Staal has been out since Nov. 1 with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Dallas put winger Fabian Brunnstrom on the injured list with a shoulder injury. The move was retroactive to Nov. 7, the last time Brunnstrom played before hurting the shoulder in practice.

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