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 97 players held out of lineups. Five of those are long-term injuries from a previous year. Those players are not likely to return or have retired. That leaves 92 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

Evgeni Malkin is out with a lower-body injury which will keep him out for the All-Star Game, but most believe this is not all that serious. He should be back sometime next week, so do not expect him to miss much more time. At least, there is good news in that sense.

Alex Galchenyuk is out once again due to his knee. Some think he rushed back but sometimes there are just setbacks. He was held out for this week and it is something to monitor for next week. No one believes this to be major at all.

Mathieu Perreault has a slightly longer prognosis and has been placed on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury. Now, the good news is that this is the retroactive IR. The center is expected to be back in the next week to 10 days, at worst.

Kevin Hayes is on Injured Reserve now with a knee injury. This will cost him 10-15 more days but could have been much worse. The center had been one of the hottest players on the Rangers and had seemingly turned the corner this year.

Wingers

T.J. Oshie is out due to a personal matter which is likely related to family. It shouldn’t be much in terms of missed games. Do not expect him to be out for very long, but check back just in case it is something more serious.

Beau Bennett may just be perpetually injured. Either way, he is back on Injured Reserve again with a lower-body injury. This will cost him at least a week or two more, at minimum, as the injured winger just seems to get banged up a lot. This is a very small significance when it comes to the fantasy world as Bennett only gets a few points here and there.

Joonas Donskoi has a minor lower-body injury that will keep him out until at least the middle of next week. No one seems to know what kind of timetable this entails but again, he was not placed on Injured Reserve and that is significant.

Defensemen

Tyson Barrie was put on Injured Reserve retroactive to the middle of last week. His lower-body injury is not bad enough to keep him out much into February though and is eligible to come back on the 31st. Barrie had been rounding into some fantasy form the past few weeks and this injury is just another dent. Come March 1st, he may be on a different team anyway.

John Carlson and Morgan Rielly are both still day to day with lower-body injuries. Do not be alarmed. With the short week, they were being rested so that they do not risk further injury. Still expect them back sometime next week. They are both situations to at least look further into before rostering.

Andrei Markov is a bit more troubling or so it appeared. It looked like he was about to come back and then the rehab stopped abruptly. The good news is that Michel Therrien hinted that Markov may be at practice on Monday. Will he be in a no contact jersey? That is the question. Stay tuned on this one as the defenseman is sorely missed on fantasy squads and Montreal as well.

Goalies

Semyon Varlamov did have that groin surgery and is out for the rest of the season. It almost is just as well since Varlamov had been battling the nagging injury all year. He clearly was not the same goaltender with a goals against over three and a save percentage that was well below average. At least, Craig Anderson is coming back soon.

Craig Anderson had been out for personal reasons as he helped support his wife, Nicholle, in her fight against cancer. Right now, all seems well as she is doing much better. The goalie could be back as soon as next week or the week after. This is great news for fantasy owners who had stashed him away. Keep in mind, Ottawa’s schedule after the break is tougher. However, the goalie has stared down much worse challenges already.

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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, Habs Eyes On The Prize, Dan Rosen, and Selene Parekh of The Fantasy Doctors for all their information.