NHL Injury Update: O’Reilly, Faulk, Toffoli, and More

The latest on injuries that may be affecting your fantasy lineup.

The Big Guns (>80% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Sami Vatanen – The flu kept Vatanen out of the lineup on Tuesday night. Coaching staff will decide Wednesday if the Finnish defensemen is healthy enough to travel on the team’s two-game trip.

Ryan O’Reilly – Appendectomy? O’really? The timetable for these things is different with every player, but he could be out for up to three weeks. O’Reilly is a key component of the Sabres lineup, so the fantasy stock of some other Sabres (namely Rasmus Ristolainen and Evander Kane) might take a hit in his absence.

Justin Faulk – Well, Faulk. Can we get a Band-Aid for this boy? Another injury (lower-body) will keep the Canes’ defensemen out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis. He had points in six of his last eight games (nine points) before the injury, so this comes at a bad time.

Marian Hossa – The 37-year-old forward will miss the next few games with an upper body injury, he is hopeful for the Winter Classic though, so hopefully this isn’t too serious.

Tyler Toffoli – No timetable for his return just yet, and he won’t even be evaluated until early 2017. A lower body injury hasn’t stopped him from skating, but he’s still some ways away from returning.

Henrik Lundqvist – No surgery needed for the King, just some chicken noodle soup and rest. The flu kept the Rangers’ goaltender out of Tuesday night’s lineup against the Senators.

The Second Liners (50%-80% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Patrick Sharp – If I’m extremely familiar with a player because they appear on this list week after week, that probably isn’t good news for their fantasy value. I feel like a broken record telling you that Sharp is getting closer and closer to a return, but that’s all I can tell you without a timetable.

Mike Green – He