Welcome back to the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. Hockey is back, which means injuries are back too. You can’t avoid them, but we can get a head start and plan around them. The injury report will be out every Tuesday to help you plan the rest of your fantasy hockey week. Let’s take a look at which key players are dealing with injuries. 


Mikko Rantanen - Colorado Avalanche - Winger

Injury: leg, day-to-day.

It looks like the Colorado Avalanche could be without their best winger for an extended period of time. The 22-year-old exited monday’s game due to a lower-body injury, and did not return. It looks like he suffered an ankle injury, but the team has yet to confirm anything. After watching the replay, it doesn’t look like Rantanen will be ready to go Friday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Fantasy owners may want to start looking for someone to add off the waiver wire.

Vincent Trocheck - Florida Panthers - Center

Injury: ribs, day-to-day.

Panthers’ forward Vincent Trocheck was not in the lineup Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and his status for Thursday’s game is still not known. The 26-year-old missed practice on Monday and was a no show for morning skate on Tuesday. The news is that it’s a rib injury, but no one really knows how serious it is. We do know that it was serious enough for him to be held out of the lineup on Tuesday. Trocheck is having a decent start to the season, totaling six points (1G, 5A) in eight games. We should get an update on his status no later than Thursday.

Mackenzie Blackwood - New Jersey Devils - Goalie

Injury: illness, day-to-day.

Devils “backup” goalie Mackenzie Blackwood sat out practice monday with an illness, but it looks like he will be fine before their next game on Friday versus the Arizona Coyotes. There’s no indication that the netminder will miss that game, but there is a chance that he doesn’t get the start. He’s been #NotGood to start the season, but Cory Schneider has been worse. If Blackwood can stay healthy for the majority of the season, we should see him claim the starting job in no time.

John Tavares - Toronto Maple Leafs - Center

Injury: finger, two-weeks.

Leafs captain John Tavares is expected to miss about two weeks due to a broken finger. He’s already missed three games due to the injury, but all signs point to him being ready to go by the end of next week. The good news is, Tavares can keep skating and staying in shape, which is what he was doing on Sunday. You can’t replace a player like him by adding someone off the waiver wire, but you can plug the hole for a short period of time. 

 

Filip Forsberg - Nashville Predators - Winger

Injury: lower-body, day-to-day.

Fantasy owners are starting to wonder just how serious Filip Forsberg’s lower-body injury really is. The talented winger has now missed the last three games due to this injury, and there’s a good chance that he misses a fourth game on Thursday when they host the Minnesota Wild. The team hasn’t told us what the injury is or when he sustained it, so all we know is it’s a lower-body and it’s day-to-day. For now, the best solution is to find a replacement player on the waiver wire as a short-term solution, and hope that Forsberg can return by the end of the week.