Happy belated New Year! 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 100 players held out of lineups. Five of those were long term injuries from a previous year. Those players are likely not to return or have retired. That leaves 95 who have been hurt this season. Here are some of the more notable ouches out there and their possible prognosis on this Friday. Periodic updates and returns are provided as well.

With bye weeks upon us, one would think the rate of injuries is not a heavy but that would be wrong. Here is some on the latest walking wounded.

Centers

Ryan Getzlaf returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing a few games due to a pesky injury. The good news is that there were no setbacks against Colorado. The essential thing is that Rickard Rakell went back to wing which, arguably, makes a world of difference.

Nick Bjugstad is still expected to be out another 7-to-10 days with a groin injury. That would put his return sometime around the fourth week of January. The problem is that Bjugstad has underperformed in limited time (two points in 21 games). Even when he does return, not much can be expected.

Alex Galchenyuk has been out with an MCL injury since early December but expect him to be back, if not this weekend, early next week. He has been skating for a little while now. His return would be a huge boost to fantasy owners.

Wingers

Patrik Laine is ailing from a concussion that has landed him on Injured Reserve. The time starts ticking here as far as when does he skate without contact, does he have any setbacks, etc. There is no such thing as a mild concussion so all we can do is wait for progress. It may be days, weeks, or even months. Stay tuned on this malady. The hit by Jake McCabe left a lasting impression on the forward and on fantasy rosters.

Brendan Gallagher is on Injured Reserve with a broken right hand. Surgery was performed and he will miss another 7-to-8 weeks, leaving a timeline of return around the end of February or first week of March. That is the best case scenario. Gallagher was a huge creator of space and his fantasy relevance does impact others a little in the longer term.

Rick Nash returns Friday after missing another eight games due to a groin injury. It had been considerably stubborn and thankfully the bye week came at a perfect time. Toronto is a fast-skating team but everything indicates the winger is 100-percent. Time will tell and Friday will be his first test. These groin injuries can be quite burdensome so keep an eye out on it.

Defensemen

Roman Josi joins P.K. Subban on the injury list with an upper-body injury. It is believed to be in the shoulder area. His stick also whacked him in the face so that may be something to monitor as well. There will be more on this throughout the weekend as conditions warrant.

Ben Hutton is now on Injured Reserve due to an upper-body injury. He is not expected to be out longer, so it is just a matter of time before he returns. Hutton was even listed as questionable against Philadelphia. The left hand is not believed to be broken.

Goalies

Ben Bishop returned Thursday night as he delivered a quality performance while allowing only two goals against the Buffalo Sabres. He is not expected to start Friday but that is nothing to be alarmed about. Start him as you would but keep in mind he still is in a timeshare with Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Tuukka Rask took a shot under the mask against Nashville on Thursday and is now day-to-day with an upper-body injury. This is going to be a fluid situation, so expect more information to come out later today or over the weekend. Stay tuned as a lot of fantasy hockey owners are waiting on this news.

Robin Lehner and Sergei Bobrovsky both succumbed to the dreaded flu this week. The difference is Bobrovsky will return tonight for Columbus and Lehner is still out into the weekend at least. It always seems to be something with Lehner so Anders Nilsson is significant insurance in case as always.

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Chris Wassel can be heard on Fantasy Hockey X every week and on various places throughout the internet. He can be followed on Fantasy Alarm and Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. A special thanks this week to nhl.com, Helene Elliott, Chris Ryan, Dan Rosen, and Selene Parekh of The Fantasy Doctors for all their information.