DALLAS -- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Stephane Robidas sustained a fractured right leg early in the second period of Game 3 of a Western Conference First Round series against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Robidas fell hard to the ice 42 seconds into the second period after being upended by Stars center Ryan Garbutt near the front of the Dallas net. Robidas, who played most of his career in Dallas before being traded to Anaheim in March, was unable to put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped to the dressing room by a member of the Ducks' training staff and teammate Teemu Selanne.

The Ducks later confirmed the injury and announced that Robidas was being sent to the hospital. It is above the fracture he sustained early this season that kept him out of action for four months.

Dallas earned a 3-0 victory and cut Anaheim's lead in the best-of-7 series to 2-1. The Stars will host Game 4 on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, TSN, CNBC, RDS2, PRIME, FS-SW).

"It's a huge loss because he was playing great," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "And of course, I think all the guys on the bench felt extremely bad for him. Here's your teammate who's just fought his way back from a broken leg. I don't know what the extent of the injury is. I know it doesn't look good and he's probably out for a long time. You have to feel for an athlete that worked so hard to get back and then that same thing happens to him."

With Robidas sidelined, Anaheim will plug in either Luca Sbisa or former Star Mark Fistric, who recently returned from a conditioning assignment with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.

"It's a big loss for us," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. "My heart just breaks for the guy. He worked so hard to come back and become a big part of this team, and then there's a freak accident and he goes down again. Really I'm just thinking about him and hoping that he's doing OK. He was a big part of this team and was going to continue to play a huge role for us. It's a pretty big loss."

Robidas, 37, was making his first appearance in Dallas since the trade. As he was leaving the ice, the sellout crowd at American Airlines Center began chanting his name to honor the longtime fan favorite.

"For us on the bench, it's always hard to see a player go off the ice like that," Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "But we want to work harder for him."