Marc Staal will be out of the Philadelphia Flyers lineup long term after sustaining an upper-body injury in a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
"I think it's weeks," Flyers coach John Tortorella said.
The defenseman was injured at 4:24 of the second period when he crashed into the end boards after getting tangled with Oilers forward Warren Foegele. Staal didn't return to the game after playing 7:24 in 11 shifts.
The 36-year-old has no points and is averaging 15:34 of ice time in four games this season, his first with Philadelphia after signing a one-year, $1.1 million contract July 3.
The Flyers visit the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; BSSW, NBCSP). They are also without defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has not played this season because of an undisclosed injury. He has been skating.
Philadelphia signed Staal to be a regular in the lineup and help mentor young defensemen Egor Zamula, 23, Cam York, 22, and Emil Andrae, 21.
Zamula and Andrae have each played two games this season and will be in the lineup against the Stars. It's likely they will see increased playing time at least until Ristolainen returns.
Staal has played 1,105 NHL regular-season games for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Flyers. He's played 128 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including the Stanley Cup Final with the Panthers last season and the 2014 Final with the Rangers.
