PITTSBURGH -- Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta was released from a hospital Wednesday night but is expected to miss three to four weeks.
Maatta was hit from behind by the Minnesota's Nino Niederreiter midway through the second period Tuesday, right in front of the Wild bench. The door to the bench was open, and Niederreiter collided with Maatta as Niederreiter was making his way off the ice.
There was initial concern that the 21-year-old Maatta might have suffered damage to his internal organs, but a source told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the injury was mostly muscular.
"Olli has a serious injury to deal with over the next few weeks," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. "But he's very lucky. That could have been a lot worse."
Maatta was limited to 20 games last season following a cancer scare and shoulder surgery. He has two goals and two assists in 18 games so far this season for Pittsburgh.