The latest injuries – news on Sharp, Wideman, Bolland, Calvert and more

Get the stretcher (latest injuries):

Kevin Bieksa missed fourth straight game Monday due to a lower body injury. The Vancouver Canucks are not giving any info on the injury; feels like the playoffs already. Hosea Cheung tweeted that there is "no timeline on his return. First time he skated today since injury." Cam Barker got back into the line-up with Bieksa out but he is no longer a fantasy option.

Dave Bolland left in the first period of Monday's game against the Canucks due to a groin injury. Mark Lazerus tweeted that "Joel Quenneville said Dave Bolland has a groin injury, but doesn't think it's serious." He is too valuable to the Chicago Blackhawks playoff run to gamble on so don't expect him to play in any of their final three games.

Brian Boyle suffered a leg injury last Tuesday and is out indefinitely. He is not a fantasy player but is a valuable asset to the New York Rangers checking line. Andrew Gross tweeted "Boyle is on trip, no official update. He didn't skate. Still looks like he's wearing a brace." This is a huge blow to their playoff run but gives opportunity to young star Chris Kreider who took his spot. Kreider came in last playoffs and put up great numbers, maybe he can find that playoff magic again this post-season.

Matt Calvert left Thursday's game with a broken finger. He secured a full-time roster spot this season, however he hasn't been able to produce at the same rate as his rookie season. He is developing into more of a penalty killer/third line guy. Broken fingers are usually a 2-4 week recovery time, if the Columbus Blue Jackets make the playoffs they will need to make it to the second round for Calvert to have a chance at playing again this season.

Curtis Glencross will miss the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury according to the Calgary Sun. He was hit knee-on-knee by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy. The Calgary Flames have been playing the role of spoiler but each win this late in the season is hurting their odds of getting a higher draft pick. With their top goal scorer out now maybe they will lose their final two games and increase their odds.

Nathan Horton decided he needed to fight Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jarome Iginla and suffered a wrist injury in doing so. He left that game on Saturday and hasn't played since. Horton should listen to Don Cherry who tweeted that "it really hurts me to say this & I admire Nathan, but he's got to stop fighting. Every time he gets into a fight he hurts himself" There are no details yet as to seriousness of the injury or how long he will be out. It is likely that the Boston Bruins will be cautious with Horton and save him for playoffs.

Patrick Kaleta missed Monday's game with a hand injury after blocking a shot on Friday against the New York Rangers. The Buffalo Sabres only one game remaining and are out of the playoffs so its highly likely that he is done for the season. He isn't a fantasy player in standard pools but this will affect pools that have a goon position. Top 2012 draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko got back into the line-up with Kaleta out, he played 15:18 and registered one shot on net on Monday and on Tuesday he played 11:40 and finished with three shots and a plus two rating.

Dmitri Kulikov got wrapped up with Bruins forward Jaromir Jagr and injured his arm. George Richards tweeted that coach Kevin Dineen believe Kulikov season is over. He has such a huge upside but injuries are starting to pile up. He has missed 10 games already this season due to a wrist injury. Kulikov has missed significant time in each of the last three seasons due to different injuries.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will miss the remainder of the regular season, as he will have shoulder surgery this week. This has been a nagging injury for the RNH, as he feels it happened way back in his second WHL season. The Edmonton Journal quoted Nugent-Hopkins, saying "It has gotten a little worse, so it had to be taken care of eventually. It's time, I don't want to have to deal with the discomfort and pain every year." This is a similar surgery that Taylor Hall had last April; Hall missed the first month of the AHL season. Recovery time is six months so he will likely miss the start of next season.

Michal Rozsival has missed the last three games with an upper body injury. This is his second injury this season that has caused him to miss multiple games. As a depth defenseman this year for the Blackhawks he has almost doubled his production from last season despite being a healthy scratch every couple of games. There is no timetable on his return but he is listed day-to-day.

Bobby Ryan is listed day-to-day with an illness. Normally an illness wouldn't make this injury report but with only a few games remaining in the season this is important. If you are in pools with daily line-up adjustments keep an eye on twitter or injury reports for an update. With Ryan out Radek Dvorak got back into the line-up Monday night and scored his fourth goal of the season in just his eighth game. It was Matt Beleskey that moved up to the top line and he responded with an assist. You can check out line combos for free here.

Kimmo Timonen is the latest Philadelphia Flyer's defensemen to suffer a major injury. He has a fracture in his foot and will miss the remainder of the season. It must be scary being a veteran NHLer playing defense for Philly as they have lost eight regular NHLers this season to major injuries. Expect Brandon Manning to be in the Flyers line-up for the remainder of the season. Manning put up a ton of power play points for the Chilliwack Bruins (WHL), with Timonen out and the Flyers missing the playoffs they might try him on the PP to see what he can do.

Kyle Wellwood scored a couple of beauty goals against the New York Islanders and than suffers a significant hand injury in the next game. He blocked a Thomas Vanek shot and didn't finish the game. Nik Antropov took Wellwood's place Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals for the Winnipeg Jets and got a goal, an assist and an Oscar.

Pull Off the Band-Aid (poised for a return to action):

Colby Armstrong was back in the lineup Tuesday night for the Montreal Canadiens. He has been out since April 1 with a knee injury. He is not a big fantasy guy at all but he is a solid two-way player who helps a team win in playoffs. Armstrong returning to the line-up pushed Travis Moen out. Armstrong played just 7:47 and didn't show up anywhere on the stat sheet.

Keith Ballard injured his back on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings and missed Monday's game against Chicago. The injury doesn't seem to be serious, sounds like a strain. Jim Jamieson tweeted that Ballard is hopeful to practice this week and may play in final game on Saturday.

Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson have each been discussed in previous columns about returning soon and this column is no different. The Detroit News reported that both players are close to returning and could be ready at some point this week. They have played a combined 11 games this season, but could add a great veteran presence to the top nine forwards as the Detroit Red Wings push for a playoff spot. The Detroit Free Press tweeted that Bertuzzi may return on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Erik Karlsson has made huge strides in getting back into the line-up for the Ottawa Senators after having surgery to repair a sliced Achilles tendon. The Ottawa Sun reported that he shouldn't be ruled out for a return this weekend – or even as early as Thursday! Ottawa has three games in the next four nights and they would love to get him into at least one game before the playoffs start next week.

Kris Letang missed Monday's game with food poisoning, but got back into the lineup Tuesday night. He played 28:16 and finished with one assist and five shots on net.

Evgeni Malkin returned Tuesday night for the Penguins after missing four games with a shoulder injury. He has missed multiple games three times this season due to injury. He played 21:18 and finished with one assist, one shot and a minus one rating.

Paul Martin could play at some point this week for the Penguins. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that coach Dan Bylsma said, "Martin is the closest among injured to playing before the playoffs begin." This report was a little off as Malkin got into the line-up Tuesday night, that aside it does state that Martin is close. Expect Martin to suit up either Thursday or Saturday.

Magnus Paajarvi could play for the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday according to coach Ralph Krueger as per Dan Tencer's tweet. He missed Monday's game with a foot injury and Eric Belanger got back into the line-up. In his last three games Paajarvi scored a goal and two assists. There are too many offensive players on the Oilers so Paajarvi has to play more of a defensive role and is turning into a solid two-way player.

Patrick Sharp is having an off-season despite all of the team success the Blackhawks are having. He has scored just 18 points in 26 games, producing at almost 30% less then the previous season. Sharp has missed 19 of the last 21 games with a shoulder injury. The Chicago Tribune reported that Quenneville said that Sharp is "very likely playing in Edmonton" on Wednesday. Chicago is going to need Sharp to find his game if they are going to make a long run this playoffs.

Sheldon Souray has missed the last two games with a lower body injury. His injury is being reported as not very serious injury and that he is sitting out for precautionary reasons. Souray will likely be back in the Ducks line-up for their game Thursday or Saturday.

Dennis Wideman missed the last two games with a finger injury and got back into the lineup Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators. He played 24:02 and finished with two shots and a minus one rating.