It is never easy to foresee the unforeseen. Injuries happen every day in the NHL and here at FantasyAlarm, 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 74 players held out of lineups. Five of those are long term injuries from a previous year. Those players are likely not to return or have retired. That leaves 69 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. The latest walking wounded is listed below.
Centers
Evgeni Malkin is still out with a lower body injury which will keep him out for the weekend. Most believe this to still not be all that serious. He should be back sometime next week but there are undoubtedly some concerns here. Keep an eye out on this one.
Aleksander Barkov will play tonight after being out over five weeks. There will be obvious rust but the fears that this could be a season long injury were thankfully unfounded. He is going to likely assume his first line role but be patient on production. The important thing is Florida is now pretty much the healthiest squad in the league. See below.
Mathieu Perreault did indeed return on Thursday night against Dallas where he played a limited role but had a power play assist. Expect his ice time to go up in time. He does have a propensity for injury yet for now, he is good to go.
Patrice Bergeron is day to day with a bruise on the back of his leg suffered from blocking a shot against Washington on Wednesday night. It is believed a little treatment should be enough to get him back out on the ice for Saturday.
Wingers
Jonathan Huberdeau has been cleared to play. Consider that he had been out for almost four months with the Achilles injury, this is significant. He had been skating for a little while and now the only question is how will he look against Anaheim tonight. Now, that is some good news.
Cal Clutterbuck is day to day with a lower body injury. This is supposedly minor and looks like he will indeed play tonight against Detroit. It seems to be a theme this last week that a lot of player magically healed. A little rest does do the hockey world some good. Clutterbuck will resume his bottom six duties.
Justin Williams has a minor lower body injury that will keep him out until at least Saturday. The good news is that he is practicing but was non-committal about playing. Coach Trotz did say earlier in the week that Williams should be able to return this weekend. Consider him questionable for now.
Defensemen
Tyson Barrie and now Thomas Hickey have also returned to their respective lineups after injury. Hickey will draw into tonight’s lineup against Detroit after missing the last few games. Barrie returned on Wednesday night against Los Angeles and generated a few scoring chances.
John Carlson and Morgan Rielly are both back from their injuries so it is okay to roster them as you have been. That is the good news on what has been a week of returns. Give them a few games to get their fantasy production back, however.
Andrei Markov was thought to be out longer but last week he made a significant step forward in his recovery and returned this week to Montreal. The expected rust was anticipated and the important thing is the Canadiens have their top four back in place. Now it is just a question of when the points return.
Goalies
Tuukka Rask does indeed have a minor groin strain which was suffered on Wednesday against Boston. His status for this weekend is a little in jeopardy though Claude Julien insisted Friday’s missing of practice was for maintenance. He really has been up and down since the goalie was bumped into several weeks back. Rask allowed five more goals against Washington and three against Tampa Bay. Simply, he has not looked like himself. Tread carefully for Saturday.
Craig Anderson could be back as soon as next week. Though he is still considered on injured reserve, he is getting in shape with Ottawa’s goalie coach and staff. Consider this like training camp for the goalie who has missed the last two months. Once he starts to get his timing back, the next step will be practice full bore.
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.