It is never easy to foresee the unforeseen. Injuries happen every day in the NHL and here at Fantasy Alarm, our goal will be to help you try to stay on top of those maladies. Counting all the latest bumps, bites, and bruises, there were 95 players held out of lineups. Eight of those are long term injuries from a previous year. Those players are unlikely to return or have retired. That leaves 87 who have been hurt either over the summer or into November. Here are some of the more notable ouches out there and their possible prognosis.

Centers

Artem Anisimov was just placed on this list due to a lower-body injury suffered Wednesday night. It is not an upper-body injury as reported on TSN’s list. He may or may not play Friday against the Capitals. This is a situation that will be heavily monitored as the center is on an 11-game point streak and has been a major cog driving the Chicago offense.

Brandon Dubinsky is currently day to day with a lower body injury. The center is off to an awful start to the season and now missed Thursday’s game against Boston. There is some good news to report, though, as Dubinsky is expected to return Saturday with the team sending Sonny Milano and Markus Hannkainen back to the AHL.

Jason Spezza was added again due to a recurrence of a lower body injury. Once more, he is day to day and has missed a couple more games. His lower back is what is causing him some problems and though he is skating was held out on Thursday. The center may play on Saturday but that depends on how practice goes first.

Wingers

Zach Parise had a foot injury that has been a bit of a nuisance in the past. This time it flared up a little worse and while it’s encouraging that he is skating, he is still being held out for now. There is a chance that he could play this weekend as the forward is very much on the mend. Minnesota could use him as their special teams do noticeably suffer without him as he is the Wild’s best player.

Jonathan Drouin is an interesting case for Tampa. The hit he suffered did not look that bad but remember with head injuries that looks can be deceiving. He had been one of Tampa’s best players in the early going but currently, there is no timetable for his return. Drouin was seen practicing in sweatpants yesterday doing some puck movement drills. It will be a little while before his return.

Thomas Vanek has a hip injury which may be related to his groin issues of the past. No one is confirming this but the fact is, he is on the IR with the hip being listed as the problem. He has now been placed on the Long Term Injured Reserve list which means he cannot play for either 10 games or 24 days, whichever comes first. This is a nice way of saying he will not be back before Thanksgiving and likely longer than that.

Tyler Ennis is out once again and this time it required surgery. Groin surgery is expected to keep the Buffalo forward from playing for at least several weeks. He will not be back until early December at the earliest. His fantasy start to the season had some hoping the groin was the real issue for his woes and not another regression in his play.

Defensemen

Kris Russell is one people may chuckle at a little but for fantasy purposes, he is useful for blocked shots. The defender is on the injured reserve for a lower body injury suffered last week. This will at least keep him out a couple more games. It is something to at least monitor.

Travis Hamonic may have been a worst case injury for the Islanders. Though the defenseman is not an offensive force by any means, he did provide a tiny bit of defensive stability for their group. The last few games without him have been utter chaos and Tampa Bay scored four more on the Islanders on Thursday night. Without him and Ryan Pulock in the lineup, New York is having to overcompensate only making things worse.

Goalies

Tuukka Rask and the general body soreness is going to be a bit of a nagging issue. According to Tim Rosenthal of Bruins Daily. It seems like Anton Khudobin will be back very soon so at least there is a better Plan B in case of rest being needed or back-to-backs. Currently, Rask is okay but do not expect him to play well over 60 games either.

Mike Smith is still sidelined with that lower-body (leg) injury but has been taking shots with the team since Sunday. Coach David Tippett has not ruled out playing him next week though, which has to be a positive sign. The hope is that Smith is back to 100-percent because late last season he was one of the hottest goalies out there. Goalies often come back well after extended time off and this would put his injury time at around a month. That was close to the original timetable offered.

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Chris Wassel can be heard on Fantasy Hockey X every Tuesday night at 9pm ET and on various places throughout the internet. He can be followed on Fantasy Alarm and Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS.