While the All-Star break gave most players a chance to rest, some will need more time off to recover from injury. Let’s check in on our patients…

The Big Guns (>75% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Nathan MacKinnon – As I write this, MacKinnon has left Tuesday’s game against the Canucks with an upper-body injury. He was holding his shoulder as he left the ice, but expect a more detailed update on Wednesday. If you want to see that update right away, follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza.

Corey Crawford – The Blackhawks goalie has engaged in a bit of light training, and the team hopes he’ll start skating some time this week. Since he’s not on the road trip and Chicago’s next home game is on February 6, he’ll be out for another week at the very least. Coach Joel Quenneville is optimistic that Crawford will play again this season, but hasn’t provided a definite timetable. 

Filip Forsberg – Very close to a return as he is no longer wearing a non-contact jersey in practice. He skated alongside Ryan Johansen and Victors Arvidsson, who should see an increase in production when Forsberg eventually comes back. I’d almost guarantee that Forsberg plays sometime this week, either Thursday against the Kings, or Saturday against the Rangers. He had been having a great season with 34 points in 37 games prior to the injury.  

Shea Weber – Will need two to three more weeks to recover from a foot injury he suffered on opening night, an injury he tried to play through early in the season, which is probably why he’s been out for so long. Since I get a chance to watch a lot of Habs’ hockey, I’ll say that Weber’s absence is really exposing a lot of the team’s flaws on the blue line. Sure, there are good stories like Victor Mete’s development, and even Jeff Petry taking on a bigger role, but the core is still very weak. The Canadiens’ have allowed an average of 3.24 goals per game since Weber was shut down on December 16^th. Expect Carey Price’s numbers to improve once Weber returns.

Mark Stone – We mentioned last week that Stone was waiting for some swelling in his knee to go down, and it appears he’s had a bit of a setback in the recovery process. He hopes to return some time this weekend as the Sens play back-to-back against the Flyers and Canadiens.

Cory Schneider – Didn’t skate on Tuesday, but the team hopes to see him resume skating on Wednesday or Thursday. Keith Kinkaid had a strong showing against the Sabres in Schneider’s absence, but I wouldn’t expect much from him going forward. Kinkaid’s 3.11 GAA and .897 SV% might be responsible for my doubts.

Mark Scheifele – We’re about five weeks into the six to eight-week timetable originally prescribed for Scheifele. The good news is that he has been skating, but don’t expect him back in the lineup until he participates in a full practice. It might be a good idea to follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza to find out when exactly that is! Remarkably, the Jets are 9-2-2 in Scheifele’s absence.

Jonathan Quick – A nagging injury kept the Kings’ goalie away from All-Star Weekend, and while he didn’t start Tuesday, he should be good to go on Thursday against the Predators. Quick was forced to miss Tuesday’s game because the league has to punish players who don’t attend the All-Star game and didn’t miss a game due to injury leading into the break. He was dealing with an injury but roster restrictions prevented the Kings from making the necessary moves, and Quick was left to back up Darcy Kuemper. So technically Quick didn’t miss the game due to injury.

Mark Scheifele – We’re about five weeks into the six to eight-week timetable originally prescribed for Scheifele. The good news is that he has been skating, but don’t expect him back in the lineup until he participates in a full practice. It might be a good idea to follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza to find out when exactly that is! Remarkably, the Jets are 9-2-2 in Scheifele’s absence.

John Gibson – The Ducks’ goaltender was shaken up by a hard shot from Patrice Bergeron and was in visible pain as he continued to play. He eventually came out of the game, but it’s unclear whether the injury will cause him to miss any time.

The Second Liners (40%-75% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Jeff Carter – The Kings’ forward skated on Tuesday, and even got some shooting in, but he still has a long way to go before returning to action. Once he participates in a full practice, we can start expecting him back in the lineup. Carter has been out since mid-October, recovering from surgery that repaired a cut on his leg.

Brian Elliott –  The Flyers’ goaltender was on the ice before Monday’s practice, but left for ‘precautionary reasons’. Consider Elliot day-to-day with a lower-body injury for now, and expect Michal Neuvirth to face the Capitals on Wednesday night. Elliot’s 19-11-7 record seems to be in spite of his .908 SV%, certainly not because of it.

Morgan Rielly – Has been skating on his own, but not fully participating in team practice, so it’s unlikely he faces the Islanders on Wednesday.

Charlie McAvoy – The rookie defenseman is expected to be out for roughly one more week after undergoing a procedure to correct a heart condition (supraventricular tachycardia). He did get a chance to skate on Monday, but will need to ease his way into practice, and avoid too much physical activity too quickly. Don’t expect this to have any major impact on McAvoy’s season or even career going forward.

Joe Thornton – While Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson said Thornton had an arthroscopic procedure for an issue with his MCL, Dr. David Chao explained that you don’t fix an MCL through arthroscopic surgery. He provided further insight into the injury in the form of an estimated timetable, saying it could be a three to four-month recovery. It’s important to note that Dr. Chao has only seen video of the injury, so his diagnosis might not be 100% accurate. Whatever the case, expect Thornton to be out long-term.

Semyon Varlamov – Participated in a full practice on Monday, and should be available to start later this week against the Oilers (Thursday) or Jets (Saturday). Varlamov is 13-9-2 on the season with a .912 SV% and 2.87 GAA. Jonathan Bernier is 14-9-1 with a .919 SV% and 2.62 GAA.

Nino Niederreiter – Has been skating on his own, and the team hopes he can take the next step in practice on Wednesday. Depending on how he feels in practice, there’s a chance he returns to the lineup on Friday against the Golden Knights.

Jacob Trouba – Out six to eight weeks with an ankle injury.

The Depth Guys (10%-40% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Nikita Zaitsev – While Zaitsev expects he’ll be ready to face the Islanders, coach Mike Babcock will make the final decision after Wednesday’s morning skate.

Roberto Luongo – Bobby Lu is feeling better and almost ready for a full practice. It’s going to take a miracle for Florida to make the playoffs as they currently sit 12^th in the conference, so don’t expect them to rush Luongo back in an attempt to qualify for the post-season.

James Reimer – A pulled groin will keep the Panthers net minder out for a few weeks. With Roberto Luongo still recovering from his own injury, Harri Sateri has taken over the starting duties in Florida. While Sateri did limit the high-scoring Islanders to one goal on 33 shots, he had allowed 14 goals in three appearances before that.

Johnny Boychuk – Practiced fully last week, so he should be back in the lineup very soon. Coach Doug Weight isn’t going to be very forthcoming with injury updates going forward as he told reporters, “I am no longer discussing any injuries, I try to do the best I can to update you, I know it’s your job to ask. I’m not going to update any more, it’s kind of tiring for me as far as stick-handling around upper body, lower body. Whoever’s in, I’ll give you the lineup and that’s that.”

Marcus Johansson – Has suffered his second concussion of the season after an elbow from Brad Marchand. You never really know the timetable with head injuries like this.

The Mr. Irrelevants (<10% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Marian Gaborik – Day-to-day with an injury that doesn’t appear to be serious.

Phillip Danault – Out indefinitely with ‘concussion-like symptoms’ after that Zdeno Chara slapper to the head.

Andrew Shaw – Out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury.

Andrew Ladd – Has been skating, expect him back soon. Anthony Beauvillier has ten points in nine games since taking over Ladd’s spot on the second line.

Follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza! for the latest injury updates!