Injury Ward: Updates on Rinne, Hedman, Matthews, Lehner, Letang, and more…
Brennan Des
2018-10-31
Happy Halloween! Hopefully I don’t scare you with these injury updates…
Josh Manson – Missed Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury. Not much else available right now.
Ondrej Kase – Still dealing with symptoms from a concussion, which means we don’t know exactly when he’ll be back. Concussions are extremely unpredictable, different people need different amounts of time to recover. Let’s just wish him a speedy recovery so we don’t have as many sitting Ducks.
Max Comtois – Hasn’t been skating. He’s currently on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and that’s all we really know. The 19-year-old has seven points in 10 games this season, and the Ducks are going to need him if they plan on snapping their five-game losing streak.
Charlie McAvoy – Was placed on the Injured Reserve by Boston on Tuesday, as he’s suspected to be recovering from a concussion. He has been skating but not practicing. I wish I had more information for you, but Coach Cassidy hasn’t offered us very much. "When is he going to be healthy? When is he going to be back skating? When is he going to be back practicing? I don't have a good answer for that right now." I guess according to Cassidy, we know that we do not know.
Victor Rask – Still a month away from a return. I’ll remind you that he required surgery after cutting his hand in a kitchen accident before training camp.
Brandon Dubinsky – Skated for the duration of Monday’s practice, but hasn’t been cleared to play.
Andreas Athanasiou – Day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Does it get any more vague than that? The Red Wings’ forward had three points in four games prior to the injury.
Roberto Luongo – Is currently with the team in Finland as the play a two-game series against the Winnipeg Jets, but don’t expect him to start either of those games. Luongo has been facing shots, but should still be considered week-to-week. The team doesn’t want to rush him back and is willing to wait until he’s healthy. If the Panthers are going to make the playoffs this season, they can’t have Luongo getting injured again (Michael Hutchinson and James Reimer have not been very good). So, it only makes sense to wait until Luongo is feeling 100% so they don’t risk anything down the road.
Jonathan Quick – Coach John Stevens revealed that Quick is “probably more than day-to-day”, but he isn’t expected to be out for an extremely long time either. To me, it sounds like Quick will be out for the next couple of weeks – but I’m no expert.
Shea Weber – GM Marc Bergevin revealed that the team won’t rush Weber in his recovery from off-season knee surgery, partially because of how Montreal’s defense has stepped up in their 6-2-2 start.
Paul Byron – Left Tuesday’s game against the Stars with a lower-body injury. More details will probably be revealed in the coming days.
Pekka Rinne – Was activated from IR on Wednesday morning. Is “feeling great”, so don’t be surprised if he starts against the Lightning on Thursday or against the Bruins on Saturday. He should be a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and make his return on Thursday – whether it’s as the back-up or starter remains to be seen. Troy Grosenick, who did not see any minutes after being recalled to replace Rinne, has been reassigned to the AHL.
Jesper Bratt – Hasn’t been medically cleared to play, but has been on the ice with his teammates. He’s travelling with the team during their seven-game road trip, so there is a chance he returns in one of those contests.
Robin Lehner – A “strain” caused him to leave Tuesday’s game against the Penguins after two periods. Hopefully we’ll get more details in the coming days. Third-string goalie Christopher Gibson was seen on the ice at Islanders' practice on Wednesday.
Kris Letang – Was a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game against the Islanders, he ended up sitting out with a lower-body injury. The fact that the team waited until minutes before puck-drop to decide whether or not Letang would play, tells me the injury isn’t too serious. So don’t panic!
UPDATE:
Kris Letang practiced today, said he felt good, and will make the trip to Brooklyn as the Pens take on the Islanders tomorrow night. #Pens
— Chase Williams WPXI (@chasepwilliams) October 31, 2018
Derick Brassard – Not skating. Out with a lower-body injury. Not much information available about the injury.
Robby Fabbri – He’s healthy enough to be in the lineup on Thursday when the Blues take on the Golden Knights. Fabbri played three games in the AHL as part of a conditioning assignment, and looks like he’s good to go. Whether or not he actually plays will depend on Coach Mike Yeo.
Jake Allen – Has been skating by himself and working out on the exercise bike after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday’s clash with the Blackhawks. His participation in Wednesday’s practice should reveal whether or not he’ll appear in Thursday’s game against Vegas.
Victor Hedman – Definitely won’t play against the Predators on Thursday, but hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday against the Habs (although it’s unlikely he plays). There’s a good chance he misses more than a week because of the upper-body injury, which doesn’t seem to be a concussion.
Ondrej Palat – Won’t play against Nashville, but the team is waiting on more information regarding Palat’s lower-body injury. He’s currently day-to-day after blocking a shot against the Golden Knights.
Auston Matthews – Will miss at four weeks with a shoulder injury. The good news is he won’t need surgery, and that this has nothing to do with the shoulder he separated last season (that was his right, this is his left). Nazem Kadri will take Matthews’ spot between Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau, while this opens up a spot for Kasperi Kapanen on Toronto’s top power-play.
Alexander Edler – Out three-to-six weeks with an MCL sprain.
Sven Baertschi – Looks like a concussion, so we have no idea when exactly he’ll be back.
Max Pacioretty – Not travelling with the team as they finish off a road trip against the Blues on Thursday, which means he definitely won’t be in the lineup for that game. No definitive timetable for when he’ll return from an upper-body injury.