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.

Rickard Rakell – The Ducks' forward is week-to-week with a shoulder injury. Rakell has four goals through eight appearances this year, averaging 3.6 shots per game.

Nick Schmaltz – Is expected to miss the next three to four weeks with an upper-body injury. Schmaltz has just one point through his first six outings of the year. He's consistently scored at a 50-point pace in recent seasons but that seems like a tall task given the current quality of Arizona's roster.

Victor Olofsson – The Sabres winger sustained a soft-tissue injury during the team's practice on Monday that caused him to miss Tuesday's clash with the Sharks. He was essentially a game-time decision on Tuesday, which suggests the injury isn't too serious because he wasn't ruled out so far in advance. Olofsson is off to a great start this year, tallying nine points in his first eight appearances.

Casey Mittelstadt – Has been making good progress in his recovery from an upper-body injury. The hope is he'll be able to practice with the team after they return home from a four-game road trip that wraps up on Thursday in Seattle.

Nino Niederreiter – The Hurricanes forward will be sidelined for a few weeks with a lower-body injury. With Nino unavailable, Seth Jarvis – Carolina's first-round pick from the 2020 draft – entered the lineup on Sunday against the Coyotes. It was his first game in the NHL and he managed to tally an assist through 10 minutes of action.

Tyler Johnson – The 31-year-old forward is dealing with some neck soreness and won't be available on Wednesday night when the Blackhawks face the Hurricanes.

Cale Makar – Colorado's defenseman is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve, which requires him to be sidelined for at least a week. That means he'll miss both Wednesday's and Saturday's game against the Blue Jackets. Fortunately, coach Jared Bednar doesn't think this is a long term injury.

Andre Burakovsky – Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that isn't believed to be too serious. As I write this, his status for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jackets is "doubtful", but we should get a more definitive answer closer to puck drop.

Mikko Rantanen – The Finnish forward is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that will keep him sidelined on Wednesday against Columbus. While he's been skating recently, he hasn't been taking contact.

Pavel Francouz – Remains week-to-week with a sprained ankle but has been skating recently.

Devon Toews – Had shoulder surgery during the offseason and has been skating frequently. He remains at a stage where he's only allowed to take controlled contact in practice – a stage he's been in for about a week now. Once he's able to take full-fledged contact consistently in practice, we can start expecting a return.

Adam Boqvist – Is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury that has kept him sidelined since last Monday. On Tuesday, Boqvist practiced for the first time since sustaining the injury. With that being said, his status for Wednesday's game against Colorado remains up in the air as I write this.

Mike Smith – The 39-year-old netminder has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained on October 19^th against the Ducks. Smit has been practicing recently and while he may not be available against Nashville on Wednesday, it sounds like he'll be back soon.

Anton Lundell – Is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was on the ice for Wednesday's practice and it sounds like he could be available on Thursday when Florida faces Washington.

Sam Bennett – The Panthers forward is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He didn't practice on Wednesday, which suggests he won't be ready to return against the Capitals on Thursday. Bennett has four goals and three assists through eight appearances this year.

Drew Doughty – Last week, we learned that Doughty suffered a right knee contusion during a game against the Stars on October 22^nd. He's expected to start skating in roughly five weeks, with a return to the lineup expected about seven weeks from now.

Jordan Greenway – On October 29^th, the Wild forward was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He was seen limping after taking a hit against Seattle on October 28^th. He'll be eligible to return from injured reserve on Saturday against Pittsburgh, but there haven't been any recent updates about when exactly he's expected back in the lineup.

Alex Goligoski – On October 29^th, it was announced that Goligoski would miss a week or two with an upper-body injury. He has been practicing recently and Minnesota's next game – scheduled for Saturday in Pittsburgh – will be a played a week after the original injury announcement. As such, it's possible we see Goligoski make his return against the Penguins. 

Jonathan Drouin – Was taken to the hospital after he took a puck to the ear during Tuesday's game against Detroit. Fortunately, his teammates saw him after the game, and he assured them he was fine. Coach Dominique Ducharme said Drouin passed all concussion tests and will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Joel Edmundson – Has reportedly suffered a setback in his recovery from an undisclosed injury and is expected to miss another 10 to 14 days. On the bright side, Edmundson was seen skating on Wednesday morning. 

Carey Price – The Canadiens netminder is expected to leave the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program on November 6^th, at which point he will have completed 30 days in the program. With that being said, there's still no timetable for Price rejoining the team. Backup Jake Allen has performed as well as anyone could have asked, posting two shutouts in his last three appearances. Unfortunately, his numbers are highly dependent on the team in front of him, and Montreal has been pretty bad for most of the season.

Jack Hughes – The 20-year-old forward dislocated his shoulder on October 19^th against the Kraken. The recovery process has been going according to plan so far and he'll be re-evaluated in five weeks.

Dougie Hamilton – A lower-body injury prevented the Devils defenseman from playing the final two periods of Tuesday's clash with Anaheim. Coach Lindy Ruff didn't have any further update after the game, but we should hear something before the team gets back in action on Friday against the Kings.  

Ryan Reaves – No concrete timeline on his return from a lower-body injury. While he has been practicing with the team recently, he hasn't been taking contact.

Shane Pinto – No substantial update on his recovery from an upper-body injury but he definitely won't be available on Thursday when Ottawa faces Vegas.

Ryan Ellis –  Although he has been skating recently, he 30-year-old defenseman has missed Philly's last five games with a lower-body injury. After Wednesday's practice, the team will decide whether Ellis is in a position to travel with the team for their upcoming road trip through Pittsburgh and Washington. I wouldn't get my hopes up since coach Alain Vigneault said on Monday that Ellis is out week-to-week.   

Kevin Hayes – Since he was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), Hayes won't be eligible to return until November 10^th when Philly faces Toronto – which means he'll be sidelined for at least another week. With that being said, he's been skating frequently and progressing well. Coach Alain Vigneault thinks that Hayes could join the team for a full practice in the next few days.

Bryan Rust – The Penguins forward has been week-to-week with a lower-body injury. On Wednesday, he practiced with his teammates for the first time since suffering the injury (on October 14^th). He wasn't taking any contact, which indicates he won't be available to face the Flyers on Thursday. Regardless, this is an encouraging step in his recovery.

Kris Letang – The Penguins defenseman recently cleared COVID protocols after testing positive for the virus some time ago. He practiced with the team on Wednesday and could be back in the lineup on as early as Thursday against Philly, depending on how he's feeling.

Brandon Saad – Has cleared COVID protocols and is expected to face the Kings on Wednesday after practicing with the team on Tuesday.

Nikita Kucherov – Last week, the star winger underwent a procedure for a lower-body injury that is believed to be a core/groin-related. The procedure comes with a recovery timetable of eight to 10 weeks. Alex Killorn has been heating up in Kucherov's absence, posting eight points in his last five games.

Mark Stone – No real updates since we learned that Stone won't require surgery for the lower-body injury he's been dealing with. He has been skating on his own recently, but we'll need to wait until he's taking contact in practice before we start anticipating a return. Last we heard, his official status was in between day-to-day and week-to-week.

William Karlsson – The Golden Knights center will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a broken foot. He sustained the injury when he was hit by a shot during Friday's game against the Ducks. Chandler Stephenson, who has nine points through nine games this season, should see an increased role while Karlsson is sidelined.

Nolan Patrick – Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Fortunately, it doesn't sound like he'll be sidelined for too long and this injury isn't expected to threaten his long-term future. That's good news for a player who's missed significant time in recent years due to a migraine disorder.

T.J. Oshie – Suffered a lower-body injury last Wednesday against Detroit and is out on a week-to-week basis. He was seen in a walking boot and crutches on Thursday.

NHL's COVID-19 Protocol List

Below is a list of fantasy-relevant players that are currently sidelined 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).

Jakob Silfverberg – On Sunday, we learned the Ducks forward was placed in COVID-protocol.

Max Domi – The Blue Jackets forward tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and won't be available to face the Avalanche on Wednesday and Saturday.

Viktor Arvidsson – The Kings winger was placed in COVID-protocol on Sunday.

Mats Zuccarello – Tested positive for COVID-19 and will be sidelined for at least 10 days.

Sidney Crosby – The Penguins captain tested positive for COVID-19 and is dealing with mild symptoms of the virus. Based on my understanding, he'll be sidelined for at least 10 days as he self-isolates.

Timo Meier – Is in COVID protocol.

Kevin Labanc – Is in COVID protocol.

Erik Karlsson – Is in COVID protocol.

Jared McCann – Is in COVID protocol.

Ryan O'Reilly – Tested positive for COVID-19 last Tuesday and won't be eligible to play until November 7^th – when his 10-day self-isolation period will have run its course. Keep in mind, his return may be delayed if he needs extra time to recover from current symptoms. Coach Craig Berube expects O'Reilly to return during the team's current road trip, so the Blues center should either be back on Sunday against Anaheim or Tuesday against Winnipeg.

Ville Husso – Is in COVID protocol.