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.

Ryan Getzlaf – Left Tuesday's game against the Kings due to an ankle injury. His status for Wednesday's clash with Vegas hasn't yet been determined, but I'd expect him to sit out of that game given the lack of recovery time. Getzlaf has turned back the clock this year, posting 19 points in 23 appearances– a 68-point pace!

Craig Anderson – The Sabres netminder is reportedly dealing with head/neck issues after taking a hard hit in a game against San Jose back in early November. Coach Don Granato shared his concern because the injury has lingered longer than the team would have expected. Officially, Anderson is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, but there's no real timetable for his return.

Casey Mittelstadt – Has been a full participant in recent practices and should return to the lineup on Thursday night against the Panthers. An upper-body injury has kept Mittelstadt out of the lineup since October 14^th, Buffalo's first game of the season.

Alex Tuch – Skated with his new Sabres teammates on Monday but wasn't taking any contact. It's an important step in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery but he's still weeks away from a return. Vegas announced a six-month timetable after Tuch underwent the procedure in late July, which means we should expect him back at some point in late January.

Tyler Johnson – He practiced last week but hasn't made as much progress as the team would have expected by this stage. Johnson was sidelined for the entirety of November due to neck soreness. There's no real timetable for his return as the team continues to monitor his status on a day-to-day basis.

Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado's superstar center will make his return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Leafs. He's been sidelined for the past three and a half weeks with a lower-body injury. Nazem Kadri was outstanding in MacKinnon's absence, posting 17 points in eight games.

Pavel Francouz – The 31-year-old netminder will go down to the AHL for some game action as he hasn't played in over a year. After his AHL conditioning stint, he's expected to join the team on their five-game road trip, which spans from December 1^st to 8^th. Based on this news, I expect Francouz will make his season debut very soon. 

Valeri Nichushkin – The Avalanche forward is dealing with a non-COVID-related illness. As I write this, his status for Wednesday's clash with the Leafs remains up in the air. 

J.T. Compher – Has been skating recently but hasn't been taking contact. He might join the team at some point on their five-game road trip, which kicks off Wednesday night in Toronto. On November 15^th, it was announced that Compher's upper-body injury would keep him sidelined for about a month. Based on that timeline, he should be back in about two weeks. 

Mike Smith – Has been on the ice consistently over the past week and recently started facing shots. Apparently, Smith is dealing with a nagging lower-body injury that only bothers him in certain positions and surgery isn't part of the plan. Reports indicate that he should be back at some point in early-mid December.

Darnell Nurse – Has been skating recently but will probably be sidelined for another week or two as he recovers from a broken finger.

Duncan Keith – Last week, we learned the Oilers defenseman was day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He has been skating recently but it sounds like he's at least a week away from returning. 

Anthony Duclair – The Panthers winger has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury for the past week. Duclair has been skating recently and the hope is he'll return Thursday against the Sabres or Saturday against the Blues. He's been excellent this season with nine goals and eight assists through 19 appearances.

Gustav Forsling – The 25-year-old defenseman is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He's had a strong start to the season in Florida, posting 12 assists through 21 games.

Aleksander Barkov – Florida's captain was a full participant in Tuesday's morning skate. While his official status is still week-to-week, this is an encouraging step in his recovery. He's been sidelined with a lower-body injury for the past couple of weeks.

Jared Spurgeon – Last week, the Wild announced that their captain was week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He was on the ice for Monday's practice and skated again on Tuesday morning. He's progressing well and hasn't been ruled out of Thursday's dance with the Devils just yet.

Mats Zuccarello – Suffered a 'nasty injury' on his bottom hand after taking a slash during Friday's game against the Jets. He participated in Monday's optional practice and skated again on Tuesday morning, but ultimately wasn't ready to face the Coyotes on Tuesday night. He's progressing well but his status for Thursday game against New Jersey is still up in the air.

Mike Hoffman – The 32-year-old winger has been sidelined with an upper-body injury for the past two and a half weeks but could be back at practice soon.

Joel Edmundson – On Monday night, Edmundson met with doctors about a back injury that's kept him sidelined since the season began. I expect we'll get a more substantial update about that appointment in the coming days.

Carey Price – On Monday, the Canadiens netminder skated for about 15 minutes without his goalie equipment. We don't know when he'll be back in the lineup and it looks like he's still in the early stages of his road to a return. Once he starts facing shots and participating in full practices, we can start anticipating his season debut.

Drake Batherson – The Sens winger was removed from COVID-protocol on Tuesday morning and will be in the lineup for Wednesday's clash with the Canucks. 

Derick Brassard – Is dealing with a lower-body strain and won't play against the Rangers on Wednesday.

Kevin Hayes – The Flyers center will be back in the lineup on Wednesday night against the Rangers. He had been sidelined for the past six games after reinjuring his surgically repaired abdominal muscles on November 16^th. He had core muscle surgery in May and abdominal surgery in September, which delayed his season debut by about a month.

Ryan Ellis – On November 16^th, the Flyers announced that Ellis would be sidelined for four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. After some complex calculations, I've concluded he should be back in another two to four weeks. Ellis has been progressing well and is expected to resume rehab on Wednesday after some planned time off.

Evgeni Malkin – Although he wasn't taking any contact, it was encouraging to see him skate with his teammates on Monday and Tuesday. These were his first skates with the team since undergoing knee surgery in the offseason. The next major step in Malkin's recovery will be a full-contact practice.

Bryan Rust – The Pens winger is officially week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He's not travelling with the team on their current road trip, which concludes on December 10^th and includes four more games. Instead, he's working through rehab in Pittsburgh. In Rust's absence, Evan Rodrigues is skating on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

Chris Driedger – Seattle's netminder was just placed on Injured Reserve and won't be eligible to return until next Tuesday. Of course, he may be sidelined for longer than that if his injury hasn't healed by then.

Jordan Eberle – Left Monday's game against the Sabres with a lower-body injury and wasn't on the ice for Wednesday's morning skate. Eberle won't be available against the Red Wings on Wednesday night.

Ondrej Kase – Has been skating recently but an upper-body injury will keep him out of the lineup on Wednesday against the Avalanche.

Petr Mrazek – On Tuesday, Toronto's netminder participated in his first full practice since reaggravating a groin injury in late October. The plan is for Mrazek to get some action in the AHL this weekend, while Joseph Woll and Jack Campbell handle the Leafs' back-to-back against Minnesota and Winnipeg.

Alec Martinez – The latest update from coach Pete DeBoer suggests that Martinez is currently sidelined due to a head injury rather than a facial laceration. When asked about Martinez, DeBoer said, "he took a boot basically to the head. When you're dealing with head injuries, you hope it's a week. But sometimes the symptoms last longer. That's what we're dealing with." Recovering from a head injury is a delicate and unpredictable process, so there's no timetable for Martinez's return.

Nolan Patrick – Has been skating on his own but it doesn't sound like he's close to a return. Patrick has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since October 22^nd.

T.J. Oshie – No real updates since we learned he was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury last week. Based on what I've seen, he hasn't been skating recently so I wouldn't expect him to face Chicago on Thursday. 

Nicklas Backstrom – Continues to skate with his teammates without taking any contact. The next big milestone in his recovery from a hip injury will be a full-contact practice.

Justin Schultz – The Capitals defenseman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

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).

Ethan Bear – The Hurricanes defenseman tested positive for COVID-19 last Monday. His 10-day quarantine should end before Thursday's game in Ottawa, so the Hurricanes will probably release an update on his status soon.

Tony DeAngelo – Entered COVID protocol on Monday. He didn't travel with the team to Dallas for Tuesday's game against the Stars as he's currently quarantining in Carolina. If this were just a false positive, I feel like we would have heard something by now – but there haven't been any recent updates. Assuming this isn't a false positive, I expect DeAngelo will have to continue isolating for another eight days or so. He's been productive to start the year, posting 19 points in 20 games.

Brett Pesce – Entered COVID protocol on Monday and didn't travel with the team to Dallas for Tuesday's game against the Stars. Last we heard, he was quarantining in Carolina. Based on what we've seen from other players in the protocol, I expect Pesce will have to isolate for another eight days or so.

Andreas Athanasiou – Entered COVID protocol last Wednesday and should have another few days left in his quarantine. As such, I don't think he'll be available for Thursday's clash with Calgary. 

New York Islanders – The team has been cleared to play against the Sharks on Thursday. Notably, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey have been cleared from COVID-protocols.

Mark Giordano – Seattle's captain has been in COVID protocol since Friday. Based on my understanding, players in the protocol have to quarantine for 10 days, which means Giordano won't be eligible to return until next week.

William Karlsson – Entered COVID protocol on Monday, but that's not the only thing he's been dealing with. On November 3^rd it was announced that Karlsson would miss four to six weeks with a broken foot. He's still in a walking boot, so it doesn't sound like that injury has fully healed yet. I expect he'll have to quarantine while in COVID protocol, which may complicate and delay his foot rehab. In any case, I wouldn't expect him back for another couple of weeks.