Here’s this week’s latest in the world of injuries! For the latest updates, follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza. If you ever have any kind of question, don’t hesitate to ask!

Ryan Miller – At this point, Miller is still waiting to regain full strength in his knee. He has joined his teammates for portions of practice and should be back in the lineup shortly. Could Ryan Miller’s absence be the reason the Ducks are losing all these games?!?! Probably not. 2

Darcy Kuemper – Arizona’s goaltender suffered an upper-body injury after a collision with Mattias Janmark of the Stars on Monday. As of right now, his status is listed as day-to-day, so don’t expect him to be out for too long. Calvin Pickard and Adin Hill are both capable of stepping into the role of starting goalie, but I wouldn’t say one is guaranteed to get more starts than the other while Kuemper is out.

Jordan Staal – While he hasn’t been skating, he has been staying in shape through off-ice workouts. At this point, we have no idea when – or if – he’ll return this season.

Corey Crawford – Has been on the ice participating in a few low-intensity drills. Coach Jeremy Colliton is encouraged with Crawford’s progress but reminds us that things might change from day-to-day. “We’ll see how the next few weeks play out”. That remark from the coach makes me think Crawford will need a considerable amount of time before he returns.

Dylan Larkin – The Red Wings forward hopes to be a full participant during Wednesday’s practice. His status for Thursday’s game against the Golden Knights hasn’t yet been determined, but if he does get to practice on Wednesday, I like his chances of returning on Thursday.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Won’t be in the lineup on Thursday when Detroit faces off against Vegas, but his status beyond that hasn’t yet been determined. Bertuzzi had six points in seven games prior to the upper-body injury.

Jeff Carter – A lower-body injury kept him out of the lineup on Tuesday against the Kings, but coach Willie Desjardins hopes to see Carter return sometime during the team’s current road trip. The aforementioned road trip includes three more games – Thursday against the Flyers, Saturday against the Bruins, and Monday against the Capitals.

Mikko Koivu – Left Tuesday’s game against the Sabres following this knee-on-knee collision with Tage Thompson. Not only did the injury look bad on the play, but he left the arena on crutches. While we’re obviously hoping for a speedy recovery, I’d expect we’ll be waiting weeks for his return – not days.

Tomas Tatar – The Canadiens forward missed Tuesday’s game against the Ducks with the flu. Don’t expect him to be out for too much longer, but do hope that this illness doesn’t spread throughout the locker room. The 28-year-old forward is on pace for 60 points this season – which would be the highest total of his career.

Paul Byron – Had some tests done on his forearm and the doctors came to the conclusion that he didn’t have a fracture. While that’s great news, the injury still caused him to miss Tuesday’s game against the Ducks. He’s day-to-day for now.

Andrew Shaw – Has practiced with his teammates and it sounds like he’s close to getting the green light from the medical staff. With 24 points through 36 games, Shaw has been scoring at a 55-point pace this season. He’s a great under the radar option in deeper leagues.

Kyle Turris – Following his participation in Monday’s practice and activation from Injured Reserve, it was surprising that Turris didn’t return to action on Tuesday against the Coyotes.  Nevertheless, all signs point to him being in the lineup on Thursday when Nashville takes on Dallas.

Sami Vatanen – Has been skating, but we still have no timetable for his return from a concussion. I will say that it’s encouraging to see him skating so soon though, usually, players who are dealing with severe symptoms tend to stay off the ice for a longer period of time.

Taylor Hall – No new update. Here’s the latest we know, taken from last week’s Injury Ward: In mid-December, Hall suffered a lower-body injury in practice that caused him to sit for two games – after which he returned to the lineup. Shortly after his return, he re-aggravated the injury and has been on the shelf ever since. He has recently resumed skating, but is following a specific program that doesn’t require him to be on the ice every day – so he still isn’t in the final stages of his recovery. The good news is the Devils haven’t considered shutting Hall down for the rest of the season, but the bad news is that we still have no idea when he’ll be back.

Brian Elliot – Has been progressing well, but the team hasn’t released a timetable for his return. 20-year-old Carter Hart has been fantastic in Elliot’s absence. Hart sports a .925 SV% and 2.48 GAA through 16 games this season and is currently riding a seven-game win streak.

Evgeni Malkin – Has been skating, but isn’t quite ready to participate in practice. He has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day at this point. Nick Bjugstad has taken Malkin’s spot on a line with Tanner Pearson and Phil Kessel.

Justin Schultz – Was a full participant in practice for the first time since fracturing his leg back in October. While he’s getting very close to a return, you have to realize he’s been on the shelf for over three months. He’s going to need a bit more time to get physically and mentally ready for the strain of an NHL game.

Erik Karlsson – The San Jose Sharks embark on a three-game road trip of Western Canada that begins on Thursday against the Flames, continues on Saturday against the Oilers and ends on Monday against the Canucks. Coach Pete DeBoer expects Karlsson to join the team at some point during that stretch. DeBoer also made it clear that this injury had nothing to do with his ankle surgery in 2017. Karlsson’s status remains day-to-day, which it has been for the past three weeks. The fact that Karlsson participated in All-Star weekend leads me to believe the injury isn’t too serious, but the All-Star festivities are nowhere near as rigorous as an NHL game.

David Perron – Isn’t expected to be in the lineup for either of St. Louis’ next two games (Thursday against the Lightning and Saturday against the Predators). While he has skated on his own, he hasn’t had a chance to participate in a full practice with his teammates. Considering he’s been out of the lineup for about three weeks now, we’re going to need him to practice before we can start talking about a return.

Alexander Edler – A concussion will keep him out for at least a week. While it’s great news that he didn’t fracture anything after landing face first on the ice, a concussion is no minor injury. The one-week timetable gives us a very rough idea of how severe Edler’s symptoms seem to be currently, but don’t be surprised if he needs more time to recover.

Thatcher Demko – Is currently in Vancouver getting some tests done on his knee. Once the results of those tests are revealed, we should have an idea of what exactly he’s dealing with and how long he’ll need to recover.  

Josh Morrissey – Left Tuesday’s game against the Sharks with a lower-body injury and is officially day-to-day. His status for Thursday’s game against the Habs is unknown.

Dustin Byfuglien – The Jets defenseman told coach Paul Maurice that he was ready to play against the Sharks on Tuesday, but it looks like team erred on the side of caution and gave Byfuglien an extra day to return to 100%. Expect him to be in the lineup on Thursday against the Canadiens.

Nikolaj Ehlers – Has been skating, but hasn’t fully participated in practice just yet. He’s close to a return – not super close – but close.