Edmonton’s Lander out ‘a minimum of four weeks’ with broken foot

Already thin down the middle, the Edmonton Oilers will now be without center Anton Lander for at least a month after an MRI confirmed the 21-year-old has a broken foot.

“He broke his foot,” said coach Ralph Krueger. “That’s a minimum of four weeks.”

Lander suffered the break early in Wednesday’s game against the Stars when he blocked a shot.

In addition to Lander, two other Edmonton centers are out with injuries — Shawn Horcoff has a broken knuckle and Eric Belanger has been sidelined with a broken toe.

And while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to play Saturday, he’s been dealing with a sore shoulder that caused him to skip the Dallas game.

In a related story, the Oilers have called up center Chris VandeVelde from AHL Oklahoma City.