Arizona Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson is expected to miss three-to-four weeks with a lower-body injury, the team confirmed Monday, according to AZ Central's Jose M. Romero.
Ekman-Larsson suffered the injury late in the third period of Saturday's contest against the San Jose Sharks, taking a hit behind the net from Sharks forward Evander Kane and spilling awkwardly into the boards. He left the game and didn't return.
"You pencil him in every night for 20-plus (minutes). He's a power-play guy, he's a penalty-kill guy. He's a big chunk of our team," Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said, according to Romero. "We always talk about the old cliche, 'Next man up.' Well, we're going to need five, six men up on defense to help us out."
Ekman-Larsson had three assists against San Jose before exiting. The 29-year-old has averaged 19:22 of ice time across two games this season.
