Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff indicated Thursday that Sergei Gonchar could be out for "a period of time" with a lower-body injury.

The veteran defenseman was hit by a puck in Tuesday's preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.

Gonchar already missed part of training camp due to an ear laceration, meaning he'll now be even further behind in his attempts to rebound from a two-goal, 22-point season posted a year ago.

On the flip side, perhaps the Stars will now be more motivated to get a deal done with restricted free agent Brenden Dillon.