Flyers' Marc Staal To Miss Chunk Of Time With Injury

The Philadelphia Flyers got hit with some bad news as defenseman Marc Staal was injured in the game against the Edmonton Oilers and will be out for 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury. He got injured trying to defend a play in his own end and didn't return to the game.

Staal was picked up this offseason by the Flyers after spending last season with the Florida Panthers. He is a strong defensive presence for very cheap and the veteran has been playing in the top-four, mentoring the young group on the back-end for the team. Though it sucks for the Flyers that he's out of the lineup, it does open up another opportunity for a young defenseman to step in and step up to fill the role on the team.

Yegor Zamula and Emil Andrae have both dressed for two games each as head coach John Tortorella gets a feel for both of them. Now they will both likely be inserted into the lineup for the majority of the games that Staal misses with someone from the AHL being recalled. The next best options are either Ronnie Attard or Victor Mete. Both have played NHL games before and could serve as the seventh defenseman for the time being and potentially get in a few games.