The latest injury news, including Ovechkin, Bozak, Bergeron, Staal, Beauchemin and more…

In this week’s edition of Carried Off the Ice we will look at the latest injuries impacting the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as well as some injuries affecting teams not playing in the second round.

Playoff Injuries:

The Boston Bruins have several veteran defensemen out with injuries but that hasn't slowed down the Bruins who are up 3-0 in their second round series. Andrew Ference has missed the last five games with a lower body injury.  Wade Redden has missed five of the last six games with an undisclosed injury and Dennis Seidenberg has missed the last three games with a lower body injury.

The Boston Herald reported Tuesday that "Redden participated fully in yesterday's practice at the Garden, while Seidenberg skated for a half-hour before the workout with strength coach and then stuck around for practice as well, though he did not take contact. Ference, who has been seen in a walking boot, still has not skated, and it doesn't seem like he'll be back any time soon." All three are listed day-to-day but sounds like Ference could be out longer.

Patrice Bergeron received a deep gash over his eye after being hit by Steve Eminger in game 3 but this won't keep him out of the line-up.

Mikael Samuelsson is still dealing with a shoulder injury that he suffered back on March 31. He is listed as day-to-day and hasn't played yet in round two. Chuck Pleiness of Macomb Daily tweeted "All the Red Wings are on the ice except for Helm and Samuelsson." Sounds like he will miss game 4 as well.

Jarret Stoll will likely miss the second round of playoffs after being checked by Raffi Torres. Torres has been suspended for the entire second round, however this is not a good trade off for the Los Angeles Kings. TSN's Darren Dreger tweeted that "the primary injury Stoll sustained from the hit he took from the Sharks' Raffi Torres was to his head, and a secondary injury was to his shoulder."

The New York Rangers loss on Tuesday night came on the scoresheet and to the line-up. Head Coach John Tortorella finally had some nice words to say about a player when he spoke of Anton Stralman who wasn't able to finish the game after a big hit by Milan Lucic. Tortorella said "He's played so well that's a big blow for us as far as our matches and just our depth within our defense." Excerpt taken from the Bergen Record.

Chris Kreider was unable to finish the game after taking a high stick to the face from Tyler Seguin. "With 14:55 remaining in the third period, Kreider was hit square in the forehead by Tyler Seguin's high stick on the follow through of a shot off the rush. Seguin's entire stick blade drove up underneath Kreider's visor, sending the Rangers rookie winger to the ice writhing in pain and kicking his legs." Source Pat Leonard "The Blueshirts Blog" from the NY Daily News.

The NY Daily News also reported on May 17 "there is no update on Ryane Clowe and Darroll Powe (both with believed concussions), neither of whom are skating."

The Ottawa Senators tweeted Tuesday that "Eric Gryba didn’t practice. He is expected to skate tomorrow but his return date is unknown."

Brenden Morrow and Joe Vitale are both questionable for Game 4 on Wednesday with undisclosed injuries. Dave Molinari tweeted "Morrow, who left Tuesday’s practice early, is among those not participating in the Penguins’ optional skate."

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Monday "Vitale might be able to participate in Game 4. Vitale, another strong faceoff performer, missed Game 3 with an unknown injury. Bylsma said it is "likely" that Vitale will practice with the Penguins on Tuesday."

Martin Havlat missed game 4 Tuesday after a short returning to action for game 3 in which he suffered another lower body injury or re-aggravated a previous one. San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was quoted on NHL.com saying, "If you’re hurt and you can’t play, you can’t play. We can be as frustrated as we want. It was hard because we had to juggle the lineup, but we talked about the difference between being injured and hurt. He’s injured.”

Non-Playoff Injuries:

The Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher announced on May 16 that "Niklas Backstrom underwent successful sports hernia surgery today by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia, Pa. Backstrom is expected to be fully recovered for the start of the 2013-14 season." Backstrom is an unrestricted free agent this off-season.

Alexei Emelin will miss the start of the 2013-14 NHL season for the Montreal Canadiens after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament on Tuesday. Renaud Lavoie of RDS tweeted "Emelin will be out for six months. He had a surgery on his left knee."

Pekka Rinne had hip surgery a few weeks ago and is feeling positive about next season. The Nashville Tennessean reported, "Rinne underwent the surgery in Nashville. He expects to remain on crutches for about six weeks and be on the ice for training camp in September." Rinne told the Tennessean, "right now I'm just happy it's taken care of and hopefully I can return stronger. I'm sure once I get back on the ice, I'll notice the biggest differences." This is great news for Rinne owners.

Former Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan told the Dallas News that several players were battling through injuries to finish the season. "Trevor Daley (neck) and Aaron Rome (hip) missed games and will probably need surgery. Jamie Benn (wrist) and Alex Goligoski (foot) battled through pain and will allow their injuries to rest."

Eric Staal was a victim of a nasty knee-on-knee hit from Alexander Edler at the World Championships. Staal suffered a third-degree MCL sprain that won't require surgery. According to the Carolina Hurricanes website Staal will need around three months of rehabilitation and should be ready to start the 2013-14 NHL season.

The Toronto Sun reported last Wednesday that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak wouldn't need surgery on his injured biceps. Bozak suffered the injury in game 5 of the first round and recovery will be around a month. Bozak is an unrestricted free agent this off-season.

The often-injured Andy Sutton officially announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday after a 15-year career. According to the NHLPA website Sutton "endured 12 surgeries for various injuries that caused him to miss a number of games in his career." Hoping you have a happy and healthy retirement Andy!

Alexander Ovechkin played the final two games of round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs as well as one game at the World Hockey Championships with a hairline fracture in his foot.

The Anaheim Ducks announced Monday that Francois Beauchemin underwent successful reconstructive surgery on a ligament in his right knee and he hopes to return in time to start the 2013-14 NHL season.

Jakub Voracek is one lucky guy after crashing his Ferrari on Wednesday morning and walked away without suffering an injury. His car drove off the road and hit a power pole and tree. The car suffered over $147,000 in damage but Voracek is fine. Check out this link to the yahoo story for pictures.