The Dallas Stars will begin the playoffs without top goal scorer Jason Robertson, who suffered a lower-body injury in their last regular-season game, coach Pete DeBoer said Friday.
Robertson is week-to-week, which rules him out for at least the first few games of the opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. DeBoer didn't provide any additional details about the injury.
Game 1 is Saturday night in Dallas.
Robertson, who leads the Stars with 35 goals and has 45 assists, got hurt in a 5-1 loss Wednesday at Nashville. He was involved in an awkward collision along the boards with Predators forward Michael McCarron. Robertson was seen wearing some kind of brace on his right leg when leaving the arena after that game.
"It was a hockey play. [McCarron] is a physical guy. He's going to get a piece of you as you move the puck," DeBoer said Friday. "They just happened to be going opposite directions."
Asked if there was any hope of Robertson playing against the Avalanche, DeBoer responded, "If the series goes more than a week, then yeah."
Game 4 is slated for April 26, and the series could run through May 3 if it goes seven games.
With Robertson out, Mikael Granlund moved up to the top line with Roope Hintz and Evgenii Dadonov at Friday's practice.
Robertson played in all 82 games for the third straight regular season.
The Stars enter the playoffs having lost their past seven games (0-5-2), the worst stretch of their season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.