Injury Ward: Hughes; Nichushkin; Dumba; Krug & More
Brennan Des
2022-04-06
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.
Troy Terry – Is day-to-day with facial injuries after taking several punches from Jay Beagle during Friday's clash with the Coyotes. Fortunately, it seems like he's avoided any serious damage as he was skating on a regular line during Tuesday's practice. His status for Wednesday's game against Calgary remains up in the air as I write this.
Ryan Getzlaf – The Ducks captain is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that's been bothering him throughout the second half of the campaign. On Tuesday, Getzlaf announced he'd be retiring at the end of the season.
Clayton Keller – The Coyotes forward recently had surgery to repair a fractured leg and is expected to make a full recovery in the next four to six months. It's a tough break for Keller, who had been having an excellent season, posting 63 points through 67 games.
Jakob Chychrun – Is questionable to return before the end of the season. Chychrun has been sidelined with an ankle injury since March 12th and last we heard, he hadn't started skating yet.
David Pastrnak – Missed Tuesday's game against Detroit because of an undisclosed injury. Boston doesn't play again until Friday, when they're scheduled to face off against Tampa Bay. Pastrnak hasn't been ruled out of that game just yet, but we should know more about his status when the Bruins practice on Thursday.
Hampus Lindholm – The Bruins defenseman left Tuesday's game with a lower-body injury.
Sean Monahan – The Flames forward will be sidelined for the rest of the season following hip surgery.
Oliver Kylington – The 24-year-old defenseman is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He didn't join the team for the start of its California road trip on Monday in Los Angeles, so I don't expect he'll be available for Wednesday's game in Anaheim.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi – On March 31st, coach Rod Brind'Amour revealed that Kotkaniemi would be sidelined for two to three weeks because of a lower-body injury.
Valeri Nichushkin – Missed Tuesday's game against Pittsburgh because of a non-COVID illness.
Nazem Kadri – An upper-body injury will keep Kadri out for "some time", but coach Jared Bednar is confident his center will be back in time for the playoffs. The fact that we're already looking so far ahead suggests that Kadri won't be back any time soon, so I don't think he'll be able to have much of an impact during the fantasy playoffs. He's been excellent this season, racking up 83 points through 65 appearances.
Samuel Girard – Was a full participant in Tuesday's practice, which suggests he's very close to returning. On March 12th, we learned the Avalanche defenseman would be sidelined with a back injury for four weeks. There are just a few days left in that original timetable, and I think there's a good chance Girard returns this weekend.
Denis Gurianov – A non-COVID illness kept the Stars forward out of Tuesday's game against the Islanders.
Esa Lindell – The 27-year-old defenseman is labelled day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He's been sidelined for Dallas' last four games.
Leon Draisaitl – Participated in Tuesday's morning skate but didn't play against the Sharks on Tuesday night. It sounds like he may be dealing with a minor injury that the team decided to be extra cautious with.
Aaron Ekblad – On March 31st, we learned that although Ekblad hadn't started skating yet, he was making good progress and moving around well. The Panthers defenseman has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since March 18th.
Matt Roy – The Kings defenseman has been out with a lower-body injury since March 12th. He's been a full participant in recent practices, which suggests he's nearing a return.
Dustin Brown – Was a full participant in Tuesday's practice, marking the second-straight day he skated while taking full-contact. Brown has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since March 12th, but it seems he could be back in the lineup soon.
Matthew Boldy – The 21-year-old rookie has missed Minnesota's last three games because of an upper-body injury. Boldy was on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate and could be an option for the team's next game, scheduled for Friday in St. Louis.
Matt Dumba – Left Tuesday's game against Nashville with what looked like a shoulder injury. After the game, coach Dean Evason said the injury doesn't look good, which suggests that Dumba could be out for a while.
Jeff Petry – Participated in Tuesday's practice but wasn't taking any contact. On March 26th, the Habs announced that Petry would be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Jonathan Drouin – Is still in COVID protocol, waiting to get a second opinion for a wrist injury which may require surgery.
Carey Price – Continues to practice with the team and continues to look good doing it. There's still no concrete timetable for his return, but I get the feeling we'll see Price start a few games before the season ends.
Jack Hughes – A low grade MCL sprain (left knee) will keep Hughes sidelined for the rest of the season. He finishes the campaign with an impressive 56 points in 49 games. This year's breakout has been dampened by a couple of significant injuries, but he should be a top target during next season's fantasy drafts.
Mackenzie Blackwood – The Devils netminder continues to skate on his own and hasn't experienced any setbacks in his recovery from a heel injury, which has kept him sidelined for the past two months. As we discussed previously, Blackwood's rehab is reportedly going very well and there's still a chance he returns this season.
Kaapo Kakko – Continues to skate on his own and should be able to join the team for practice sometime soon. An upper-body injury has kept the 21-year-old forward sidelined since January 21st.
Jason Zucker – After missing two months while recovering from core muscle surgery, Zucker returned to the lineup on March 31st. Unfortunately, he sustained a lower-body injury during his return to action and is unavailable again. He has been skating recently, although the team doctors haven't made any conclusions about his status going forward.
Adin Hill – Hasn't been practicing recently and there haven't been any new updates on his status. Hill has been sidelined since March 12th – when he re-aggravated the same lower-body injury that had kept him out for about seven weeks, earlier in the year.
Jaden Schwartz – The 29-year-old forward was labelled day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which has now caused him to miss the team's last five games. On March 31st, coach Dave Hakstol revealed that Schwartz's injury may become more of a week-to-week issue than a day-to-day issue.
Torey Krug – On Monday, we learned that Krug was making progress, but there's still no concrete timetable for his return. It's been about two weeks since the Blues announced he was week-to-week with a hand injury.
Ryan McDonagh – Has been practicing recently but won't be available for Wednesday's clash with Washington. McDonagh hasn't been ruled out for Friday's game against Boston, so I guess we can consider him day-to-day at this point.
Petr Mrazek – Last week, we learned that the Leafs netminder would be sidelined for at least six weeks because of a groin injury. In Campbell we trust?
Ondrej Kase – Has been skating on his own and progressing well recently. Kase took an elbow to the head on March 19th and hasn't played since. Recovering from a head injury is an unpredictable process, so it's hard to say when exactly he'll be back.
Rasmus Sandin – The Leafs defenseman has been skating by himself recently and is making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury – which was expected to keep him out for an undetermined number of weeks. Sandin hasn't played since March 19th.
Quinn Hughes – Missed Tuesday's practice with an illness but coach Bruce Boudreau is hopeful that Hughes will be able to join the team in Vegas for Wednesday's clash with the Golden Knights.
Brock Boeser – The Canucks forward is currently being evaluated for an arm injury and won't join the team for its upcoming road trip. That means he won't be in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Golden Knights, or Thursday's game against the Coyotes.
Nils Hoglander – It sounds like a groin injury will keep the young forward sidelined for the rest of the season.
Nolan Patrick – Has missed the team's last four games with an undisclosed injury. He hasn't been practicing recently and according to coach Pete DeBoer, Patrick is not close to a return.
Laurent Brossoit – Hasn't been practicing recently and is not close to a return. As we discussed last week, Brossoit had been dealing with an injury that left him feeling good enough to play back up at first. However, more recently, that injury reached a point where Brossoit could no longer play back up.
Nicolas Hague – Hasn't been practicing recently and is not close to a return. On March 29th, the team announced that Hague was week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Max Pacioretty – Has been skating on his own recently. That's far more encouraging than last week's update, which revealed that Pacioretty suffered a setback in his recovery from an undisclosed injury and wouldn't be available any time "in the near future". Nevertheless, he'll probably need to participate in a few full-contact practices before getting back in the lineup, so his return isn't exactly imminent.
Reilly Smith – According to coach Pete DeBoer, Smith is "not close" to returning. Reports indicate that the Golden Knights winger is dealing with a knee injury, but there's no concrete timeline for his return.
Mark Stone – Vegas' captain has been skating on his own recently. The next step will be to practice with his teammates, but there's no timetable for that just yet. A back injury has kept Stone sidelined for the past two months.