Injury Ward: Price Skating; Plus Updates on Petry, Larkin, Kaprizov & More
Brennan Des
2022-01-12
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 our last article. If you ever need injury updates for a specific player, shoot me a message on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Left Tuesday's game against the Lightning with a lower-body injury and is out week-to-week. He'd been solid for the Sabres this season, posting a 2.74 GAA and .917 save percentage through nine appearances. With Craig Anderson and Malcolm Subban out month-to-month with upper-body injuries and Dustin Tokarski still sidelined because of COVID, Buffalo will have to rely on Aaron Dell for the next little while.
Antti Raanta – Is dealing with an upper-body injury that shouldn't be a long-term issue but is more serious than a day-to-day ailment. He wasn't on the ice for Wednesday's practice.
Dylan Larkin – Missed Tuesday's game against the Sharks due to an upper-body injury and was labelled day-to-day. Larkin hasn't been ruled out of Thursday's clash with Winnipeg.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – On January 7th, he received treatment for a lower-body injury and was expected to stay off the ice for at least a week. He hasn't skated since and early reports indicate this injury could keep Nugent-Hopkins sidelined for three-to-four weeks.
Cam Talbot – Left the Winter Classic on New Year's Day with a lower-body injury and has been out of action since. Talbot returned to the ice prior to Wednesday's practice but didn't stay on for the actual practice. There's no concrete timetable for his return but I don't expect he'll be available for Friday's game against the Ducks.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Participated in Tuesday's practice and hopes to play against Anaheim on Friday night. He's been sidelined with an upper-body injury since December 20th.
Jared Spurgeon – On December 30th, we learned that Spurgeon would be sidelined for a couple weeks due to a lower-body injury. He's been skating on his own recently but will need a full practice or two before we can start anticipating a return.
Kirill Kaprizov – Missed Minnesota's most recent game due to an upper-body injury. He was on the ice for Wednesday's practice and coach Dean Evason said it's possible Kaprizov will be available for Friday's game against Anaheim.
Jonas Brodin – Hurt his hand after blocking a shot against the Bruins on January 6th. Coach Dean Evason said Brodin would probably be sidelined for more than a week, so the blueliner is unlikely to face the Ducks on Friday.
Brendan Gallagher – Remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury and won't face the Bruins on Wednesday. He could join the team at some point in their current road trip, which extends to January 24th and includes six more games.
Alexander Romanov – Is unlikely to face the Bruins on Wednesday or the Blackhawks on Thursday. Due to a COVID shutdown and delayed equipment transportation, Wednesday was his first time on the ice in 10 days. As such, he'll need some time to get his conditioning back to game shape.
Jeff Petry – Practiced with the team on Tuesday and took part in Wednesday's morning skate, so I expect he'll be available against the Bruins on Wednesday night. Tuesday was Petry's first skate in several weeks as he'd been sidelined in COVID protocol. However, his conditioning looked good, which suggests he's feeling well enough to play.
Mike Hoffman – Was a full participant in Monday's practice and has received medical clearance to play. All signs point to him being in the lineup when Montreal faces Boston on Wednesday.
Christian Dvorak – Has been cleared to play in Wednesday's game against the Bruins but conditioning will determine whether or not he actually suits up.
Tyler Toffoli – The Canadiens forward had hand surgery on December 11th, which came with an eight-week recovery timetable. Toffoli was back on the ice Tuesday, but wasn't taking any contact. I wouldn't necessarily say his return is imminent, but don't be surprised if he gets back in the lineup ahead of schedule.
Josh Anderson – Participated in Tuesday's practice but wasn't taking any contact. He suffered an upper-body injury on December 2nd and was expected to miss eight weeks. There are a few weeks left in that timetable but his status is now day-to-day.
Carey Price – Hasn't been on the ice since mid-December but has been working out off the ice and could resume skating this week. It's highly unlikely he joins the team on their current road trip, which extends to January 24th and includes six more games after Wednesday's contest in Boston.
Sean Couturier – The Flyers forward remains week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He isn't expected to play this week, which rules him out of Thursday's game against the Bruins and Saturday's game against the Rangers. It sounds like the recovery process has been very 'up and down', with Couturier feeling good on some days and not so great on other days.
Derick Brassard – Re-aggravated a hip injury when he returned to the lineup on January 6th. He's officially day-to-day and didn't participate in Tuesday's practice, so I don't expect he'll face Boston on Thursday.
Jason Zucker – Has been skating on his own but remains week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Jaden Schwartz – Will be sidelined for four-to-six weeks as he recovers from surgery on his hand.
Ryan McDonagh – Tampa's defenseman is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Jack Eichel – On Tuesday, Eichel participated in his first practice with the Golden Knights since undergoing artificial disk replacement surgery two months ago. That procedure came with a recovery timeline of at least three months, so he's still far from a return. He wasn't taking any contact on Thursday and it doesn't sound like he'll be cleared for contact any time soon.
Blake Wheeler – Has been skating on his own and could join the team in a non-contact fashion at some point in the next week. Winnipeg's captain has been sidelined witha lower-body injury since mid-December.
NHL's COVID-19 Protocol List
Over the past few weeks, many players have been placed in COVID protocol. There isn't really much information available for each case, so I've simply listed the date that each player entered protocol. In the past, players stayed sidelined for about 10 days, but the league and player's association agreed to let vaccinated individuals leave isolation five days after a positive COVID test, if they have no symptoms or if symptoms are resolving. That early exit is only possibly if allowed by local health authorities.
Below is a list of fantasy-relevant players currently sidelined due to COVID.
John Gibson – Entered COVID protocol on January 6th. Although his mandatory five-day quarantine has run its course, he needs a negative test to exit protocol. It sounds like he was still testing positive as of Tuesday.
Jakob Chychrun – Entered COVID protocol on January 10th. He was close to returning from an upper-body injury but will have to wait at least a few more days because now that he has to quarantine.
Tage Thompson – Entered COVID protocol on January 10th.
Jaccob Slavin – Entered COVID protocol on January 11th.
Seth Jones – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Gabriel Landeskog – Tested positive for COVID-19 on January 10th.
Alexandre Texier – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 7th.
Denis Gurianov – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Braden Holtby – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Alexander Radulov – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 12th.
Evan Bouchard – Entered COVID protocol on January 8th.
Kailer Yamamoto – Entered COVID protocol on January 8th.
Patric Hornqvist – Entered COVID protocol on January 8th.
Spencer Knight – Entered COVID protocol on January 5th.
Filip Forsberg – Entered COVID protocol on January 8th.
Mackenzie Blackwood – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 12th.
Damon Severson – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 9th.
Jesper Bratt – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 8th.
Dougie Hamilton – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 7th. This news came after we learned Hamilton would be sidelined indefinitely after surgery on his broken jaw.
Ryan Pulock – Entered COVID protocol on January 11th. He's also been out with a lower-body injury since mid-November. While he had been skating on his own prior to entering COVID protocol, there was no concrete timetable for his return from that lower-body injury.
Barclay Goodrow – Entered COVID protocol on January 10th.
Ryan Reaves – Entered COVID protocol on January 8th.
Igor Shesterkin – Entered COVID protocol on January 6th. His mandatory five-day isolation should be finished by Wednesday, so it's possible he's available for Thursday's game in San Jose.
Tim Stützle – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Danton Heinen – Tested positive for COVID-19 on January 11th. Coach Mike Sullivan said Heinen is symptomatic.
Casey DeSmith – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 10th.
Bryan Rust – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 8th.
David Perron – Entered COVID protocol on January 11th.
Colton Parayko – Entered COVID protocol on January 10th.
Brayden Schenn – Entered COVID protocol on January 10th.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Entered COVID protocol on January 6th. Although his mandatory five-day quarantine should be complete, he wasn't on the ice for Wednesday's practice and is unlikely to play against the Kraken on Thursday.
Mitch Marner – Entered COVID protocol on January 7th.
Shea Theodore – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Nolan Patrick – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Nicolas Roy – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 11th.
Alec Martinez – Recently tested positive for COVID-19 and is in protocol, which is why he hasn't been skating recently. Prior to the positive test, he was skating without contact as he worked his way back from a head injury he sustained in late November.
Dmitry Orlov – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 10th.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Was placed in COVID protocol on January 10th.