The defenseman has two points (one goal, one assist) in 11 games this season.
"He had an infection, had surgery last night, and he's going to be out for at least two weeks, and then we'll re-evaluate," Rangers coach David Quinn said Saturday. "It came on pretty quickly within 24 hours after the game. This was a blocked shot from a few weeks ago, and he had been sore. I'm not medically gifted enough to tell you exactly what happened, but he was very fortunate to get to the hospital and have it taken care of."
Selected by New York in the first round (No. 12) of the 2005 NHL Draft, Staal has 179 points (42 goals, 137 assists) in 851 regular-season games and 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 104 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Quinn said Mika Zibanejad, who has missed the past five game with a upper-body injury, is day to day but won't play against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG, FS-F, NHL.TV). He said it the injury stems from the hit Zibanejad took from Patrice Bergeron against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 27.
"It's just an upper body," Quinn said. "He takes a step forward and then a step back. It really is day to day. We all want more definitive answers, but it is day to day."
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report
