DALLAS -- October is the cruelest month for Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen.

Franzen said he suffered a concussion Thursday during the first period of his team’s 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on an elbow to the face from defenseman Mark Fistric.

Franzen expects to miss some games but doesn’t believe it’s a long-term injury.

“I feel OK right now, so hopefully it won’t take too long,’’ Franzen said. “Do some tests and try to get back as soon as possible.’’

His coach, Mike Babcock, was not as quick to call it a concussion.

“I wouldn’t use that word,’’ Babcock said. “I don’t know who diagnosed him. We’ll let the doctors diagnose him and not him (diagnose himself) and we’ll deal with it from there.’’

Franzen said he believes Fistric should be suspended for cracking him in the nose with his elbow at 12:31 of the first period.

“Probably (he should be suspended), yeah, that’s the rules,’’ Franzen said. “It’s an elbow to the head.’’

Babcock said he thought it was an elbow to the head, but added, “The beauty of my situation is unlike the referees on the ice I have video so I get to look at it. The league deals with that stuff, not me.’’

Red Wings forward Mike Modano said he thought the hit was a little high.

“Anything to the head nowadays you hold your breath and hope guys are OK,’’ Modano said. “It’s become a real gray area in the game, and you try to get a firm understanding and hopefully anything to the head would cause a penalty or something the league will look at.’’

Franzen has a history of early season injuries. He hurt his knee in October in each of the last three seasons, including last year, when he missed 55 games with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“This is better than the ACL I had last year,’’ Franzen said. “Hopefully it’s not too many games and I’ll be back soon.’’