DETROIT – The Wings will be without Pavel Datsyuk when they play Sunday in Buffalo and quite possibly a lot longer.

Datsyuk suffered what’s believed could be a concussion late in third period after taking an elbow to the jaw by Ottawa defenseman Jared Cowan.

Datsyuk did not make the trip with the team to Buffalo.

“We had to leave him behind,” Wings general manager Ken Holland told The Macomb Daily during a phone interview before flying to Buffalo. “He didn’t feel quite right after the game. We’re going through the league protocol.”

The incident occurred along the boards in the Senators’ zone with just under eight minutes to play in the third period and the Wings trailing 3-2.

Cowen, who earlier in the period was penalized for high sticking, first slashed Datsyuk before connecting with the elbow to his jaw.

“We’ll wait a day or two to see how he feels,” Holland said. “He said he felt fuzzy. He wasn’t normal. We’ve all seen these blows to the head so you just don’t know.”

There was no penalty called on the play.

“Obviously, the combined eight eyes out there didn’t see it,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “And if you don’t see it you can’t call it. He just had the puck, kind of strange no one saw a star player like that.”

Datsyuk laid on the ice after he was struck before a stoppage in play.

Datsyuk played just three more shifts after the elbow, the last of which lasted just 12 seconds. He left the ice with 1:51 left in the game.

The play will most likely be reviewed by the league with Cowen, who was sent off for hooking in the second period, facing possible disciplinary action.

“I’ve seen the video and he got an elbow to the head,” Holland said. “I have no other comment.”

Datsyuk leads the team with 12 goals and is second on the team with 23 points.

Daniel Alfredsson did make the trip and is expected to return from a groin injury that has sidelined him the last five games.

Todd Bertuzzi, who was a last-minute scratch Saturday, did not make the trip either. He’s out with an upper-body injury.

Jakub Kindl (hip) did make the trip and is expected to play against the Sabres.