Flyers' Matt Read out six weeks with rib injury

The Flyers' Matt Read will be out for six weeks. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Philadelphia Flyers leading scorer Matt Read will miss six weeks with torn rib cage muscles, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia's Tim Panaccio reported on Thursday.

Read suffered the injury on Wednesday night's thrilling, 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, which was the highest-rated regular-season game in NBC Sports Network history. Read was drilled by the Penguins' Chris Kunitz in the first period.

The 26-year-old Read was off to a fast start in his second season with the Flyers. He already had seven goals in his first 18 games, the most on the Flyers. He had four goals in a game against the Florida Panthers earlier this season. He added six assists to total 13 points. Read had recently moved to a hot line that also featured Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.

Entering Thursday night's play, the Flyers were tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with both the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.