Here's the latest injury news from across the NHL! If you're looking for information about a specific player and don't see their name in this article, there probably haven't been any significant updates about their progress since last week's article. If you ever need injury updates for a specific player, shoot me a message on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza.

Kevin Shattenkirk – The Ducks defenseman is undergoing arthroscopic surgery in his knee this week, in order to clean up a calcium deposit that kept him out of Anaheim's regular season finale. The procedure comes with a recovery period of two to three weeks.

Lawson Crouse – Suffered an MCL injury on May 5^th, which kept him sidelined for Arizona's final two regular season games. He won't need surgery, but the injury will prevent him from playing in the World Championships this Spring.

Jeremy Lauzon – Is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won't be available for Game Three of the Bruins-Capitals series on Wednesday. There's some concern he may have fractured something in his hand after blocking a shot in Game One.

Sean Monahan – Has hip surgery scheduled this week, which explains why he wasn't in the lineup for the past three games and why he'll miss Calgary's season finale on Wednesday. He'll be ready to participate in next season's training camp at full capacity.

Jaccob Slavin – Is dealing with a lower-body injury and is expected to be a game-time decision every night for the foreseeable future. It sounds like this will be a lingering issue throughout Carolina's playoff run, with long-term treatment being delayed until the offseason.

Bowen Byram – Has been medically cleared to play, so coach Jared Bednar could insert Byram into the lineup at any point during Colorado's playoff run.

Roope Hintz – The 24-year-old forward had been dealing with an avulsion injury to his left adductor tendon, which explains why he was a game-time decision all year.  An avulsion injury is when a small chunk of bone attached to a tendon gets pulled away from the rest of the bone. Hintz has surgery scheduled on Wednesday, which comes with a recovery timetable of three to four months. He's expected to be ready for next season's training camp.

Dylan Larkin – The Red Wings captain missed the final stretch of the season due to an upper-body injury. We recently learned that Larkin sustained the injury on April 20^th after Jamie Benn crosschecked him in the neck area. The injury won't require surgery and Larkin is expected to be ready for the start of next season.

Kailer Yamamoto – Missed the final two games of Edmonton's regular season with an undisclosed issue. Fortunately, he'll be available for the team's playoff opener against Winnipeg on Wednesday.

Zack Kassian – Had been sidelined with a lower-body injury for the past month but is expected to play on Wednesday as the Oilers start their series against the Jets.

Dustin Brown – Missed the final stretch of the regular season due to a nagging upper-body injury. Fortunately, the recovery plan doesn't include surgery, so Brown should be ready for next season's training camp.

Jonathan Quick – Was unavailable during the final weeks of the regular season due to a rib injury. In addition, the 35-year-old netminder is expected to have shoulder surgery in the offseason (unrelated to the rib issue). Expect a recovery timeline to be released shortly after the procedure is complete.

Carey Price – On Monday, the Canadiens netminder suited up for Montreal's AHL affiliate – the Laval Rocket, stopping 13 of 15 shots through two periods of play. Don't read too much into the stat line as it was simply an opportunity for Price to get back into the swing of things as he hadn't played a game since April 19^th. All signs point to Price starting in Montreal's playoff opener on Thursday in Toronto.

Shea Weber – The Canadiens' captain missed the final stretch of the regular season due to an upper-body injury – which seemed to be an issue with his hand. He was a full participant in practice this week and won't be wearing any extra protection on his hand when he gets back in the lineup for Montreal's first game of the playoffs on Thursday.

Brendan Gallagher – Like Price, Gallagher got some game action in before the playoffs as he featured in Laval's regular season finale on Monday. He'll be ready for Thursday's playoff opener, skating alongside his usual line mates Tomas Tatar and Phillip Danault. Gallagher had been sidelined since April 5^th with a fractured thumb. This extra time off could be a blessing in disguise, given the demanding nature of Gallagher's playstyle.

Phillip Danault – Suffered a concussion after he was elbowed against the Senators on May 5^th, which is why he missed the final stretch of the regular season. He's been practicing with the team recently and skating alongside his regular line mates in Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar. He'll be in the lineup for Game One against Toronto on Thursday.

Evgeni Malkin – Has been skating with the team recently and seemed close to returning as he was a game-time decision for Game Two against the Islanders. Although he didn't end up playing on Tuesday, he's travelling with the team to New York for Games Three and Four. I think it's fair to say Geno will be back in the lineup very soon.

Casey DeSmith – Is officially day-to-day with an lower-body injury. From what I've seen, he hasn't been skating very frequently over the past week. DeSmith is not travelling with the Penguins to New York for Games Three and Four, so he probably won't be available for the next couple of games.

Vince Dunn – Seemed close to returning in time for Game One on Monday, but ultimately sat out of St. Louis' playoff opener. He skated on Tuesday and his status for Game Two on Wednesday will be determined closer to the time of puck drop.

Zach Hyman – Is expected to play in Toronto's playoff opener against the Habs on Wednesday. He's been out with an MCL sprain since April 18^th, but is skating alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in practice this week.

Max Pacioretty – Reports indicate he's dealing with an upper-body injury that is worse than the team originally expected. Initially, there wasn't any concern about this being a long-term issue and he was expected to be healthy in time for the playoffs, but he's already missed Vegas' first two games of the postseason. On Wednesday, the team shared that Pacioretty was making progressing and his official status is still 'day-to-day'.

Lars Eller – Is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury. While he was on the ice Wednesday morning, his status for Game Three against the Bruins hasn't been made official just yet.  

Vitek Vanecek – Wasn't on the ice Wednesday morning and probably won't be available for Game Three against Boston, so expect Craig Anderson to start again. Vanecek is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Ilya Samsonov – Was on the ice for Wednesday morning's skate but his status for Game Three in Boston hasn't yet been determined. It seems coach Peter Laviolette is keeping his cards close to his chest. Samsonov was recently removed from COVID protocols, which he had been in since May 4^th – a day after he was held out of the lineup against the Rangers for disciplinary reasons.

Evgeny Kuznetsov – Has been medically cleared to play, but we don't know when he'll be back in the lineup. Kuznetsov was on the ice Wednesday morning, but his conditioning still remains a question as he's been in COVID protocol and out of action for the past few weeks.

T.J. Oshie – Wasn't on the ice for Wednesday morning's skate so his status for Game Three against Boston is up in the air. Oshie has had a strong start to the 2021 playoffs, posting a goal and two assists through Washington's first two games.

Nikolaj Ehlers – Is still wearing a non-contact jersey in practice ahead of Winnipeg's playoff opener against Edmonton on Wednesday. As a result, he won't be available for Game One of the postseason. 

Pierre-Luc Dubois – Like Ehlers, Dubois is still wearing a non-contact jersey ahead of Winnipeg's playoff opener on Wednesday and won't be in the lineup for Game One.  As you might expect, coach Paul Maurice isn't giving away more information than he needs to at this point in the season, so we don't know what this means going forward.

NHL's COVID-19 Protocol List

Below is a list of fantasy-relevant players that are currently unable to practice, travel or play games due to COVID protocols. 

Players can end up on this list for a number of different reasons, including an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed and subject to confirmatory testing, mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals, required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol, isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol (Source: NHL.com). 

David Perron