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.

John Gibson – Participated in Tuesday's practice. On December 23^rd, coach Dallas Eakins said the plan was for Gibson to return for Anaheim's first game after the holiday break. That game is set to be played on Wednesday against the Golden Knights, so expect Gibson to start that contest.

Anthony Stolarz – Has been skating on his own recently and progressing well, so he could practice with the team soon. He's been sidelined with a lower-body injury for almost three weeks now.

Matias Maccelli – The Coyotes youngster will be sidelined with a lower-body injury for six weeks. It's a tough break for Maccelli, who was quietly having a strong campaign, posting 22 points through 30 games – a 60-point pace.

Frederik Andersen – According to coach Rod Brind'Amour, Andersen will be back in the lineup when he feels ready to play. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Canes' netminder has been medically cleared to return, it's just a matter of feeling comfortable again. He'll want to make sure he's feeling 100% in order to ensure he's playing at the top of his game, but also to avoid risking re-injury.

Max Pacioretty – Shed the no-contact jersey for Tuesday's morning skate and Wednesday's practice, meaning he's been cleared to take contact. Pacioretty will likely need a few full-contact practices before making his season debut. Regardless, he's checking all the boxes and it sounds like he's getting close to a return. On August 10^th, he underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles and was expected to be sidelined for six months – making February 10^th the originally projected return date. At this point, I'd expect him to return ahead of schedule.

Nathan MacKinnon – Has been skating recently and is reportedly getting close to a return. We're three weeks into the original four-week timetable, so don't be surprised if he's back within the next few games.

Bowen Byram – The 21-year-old defenseman is not close to returning. He's been sidelined with a lower-body injury since November 4^th.   

Gabriel Landeskog – Reports indicate that Colorado's captain is not close to returning. He still has another two weeks left in the original 12-week recovery timetable that came with his knee surgery.

Pavel Francouz – Didn't travel to Arizona for Tuesday's clash with the Coyotes because of a lower-body injury. As I write this, there's no concrete timetable for his return. Jonas Johansson was called up from Colorado's AHL affiliate to fill in for Francouz, but I imagine Alexandar Georgiev will see the lion's share of starts until Francouz is back.

Valeri Nichushkin – The 27-year-old forward is expected to miss some time. It sounds like he's still being evaluated to determine the length of his absence, but since it's already been determined that he'll miss time, this doesn't sound like a minor day-to-day issue.  

Josh Manson – The Avalanche defenseman is not close to a return. He's been sidelined with alower-body injury since December 1^st.

Patrik Laine – The Blue Jackets' forward is currently sidelined with COVID. Based on my understanding, he doesn't necessarily have to isolate for a certain number of days, as had been the case in the past. Rather, he may be able to return relatively soon if he's asymptomatic and tests negative on consecutive days. Regardless, I don't think he'll be available for Thursday's game against the Islanders.

Cole Sillinger – The 19-year-old forward was recently activated from injured reserve, so I expect he'll be available to play against the Islanders on Thursday.

Elvis Merzlikins – Was on the ice for Wednesday's practice, so he could be available for Thursday's game against the Isles. He'd been sidelined with an illness – believed to be COVID – for the past week.

Jakub Vrana – Was just sent down to Detroit's AHL affiliate for a three-game conditioning stint. If all goes well, Vrana may be able to return to the Red Wings lineup after playing those three games in the AHL, setting the stage for a potential return on January 4^th against the Devils. Vrana recently returned to hockey activities after a two-month stint in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

Aaron Ekblad – Has been practicing with the team recently. Unless he suffers a setback during Thursday's morning skate, he'll play against Montreal on Thursday night. 

Aleksander Barkov – Florida's captain was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. If all goes well during Thursday's morning skate, he should play against the Canadiens on Thursday night. Barkov had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since December 17^th.

Radko Gudas – Has been sidelined with a concussion since December 3^rd, but is expected to make his return against the Canadiens on Thursday.

Trevor Moore – Sustained an injury during Friday's game against the Coyotes and missed Tuesday's clash with Vegas as a result. There's no concrete timetable for his return, but it seems likely he'll miss Thursday's clash with Colorado.

Arthur Kaliyev – Sustained an injury after blocking a shot on December 20^th against the Ducks. He's on injured reserve but has already completed his mandatory seven-day stint on the shelf, so he can be activated whenever he's ready to return. Coach Todd McLellan had said Kaliyev would be re-evaluated when the team returned from holiday break, so perhaps we'll get a better idea of a timeline in the coming days.

Marcus Foligno – Is dealing with a lower-body injury and won't be back soon. He's been skating on his own, but we shouldn't start anticipating a return until he's taking part in full-contact practices with his teammates.

David Savard – Has been skating on his own and progressing well. On December 13^th, the Canadiens announced that Savard would miss two-to-three weeks with an upper-body injury. Assuming that timeline remains in place, he should be back soon.

Sean Monahan – Skated on his own for the first time since the Canadiens announced he'd miss two to three weeks with a lower-body injury (December 13^th). I imagine he'll be out longer than originally anticipated as he isn't travelling with the team and the Canadiens are on the road until January 3^rd. He probably won't participate in any full-contact practices until the Habs return home, so he's at least a week away from a return.

Mike Matheson – The Canadiens' defenseman suffered a lower-body injury on December 17^th and will be re-evaluated when the team returns home. Montreal's road trip extends until January 3^rd and includes four more games, so Matheson will be out for at least a little while.

Ryan Graves – The Devils' defenseman is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.

Ondrej Palat – Was a full participant in Tuesday's practice and Wednesday's morning skate, so he's getting close to a return. On November 8^th, we learned he'd be out for eight-to-ten weeks following groin surgery. Based on all the information we have, it's reasonable to expect him back within the next week or so. 

Oliver Wahlstrom – Left Tuesday's game against the Penguins after taking a hit up high. There weren't many updates on his status after the game, although coach Lane Lambert said Wahlstrom was not pulled because of concussion protocol. The 22-year-old forward wasn't on the ice for Wednesday's practice, so I wouldn't expect him to play against Columbus on Thursday.

Semyon Varlamov – Recently started skating on his own. Although that suggests he's closer to coming back from a lower-body injury, there's still no concrete timetable for his return. Cory Schneider is currently filling Varlamov's role as New York's backup netminder, but Schneider hasn't seen any action since Varlamov got injured.

Adam Pelech – The Islanders' defenseman remains sidelined with an upper-body injury and hasn't been skating recently. It's believed he's dealing with a head injury, which is always hard to put a timetable on.

Carter Hart – The Flyers' netminder is currently in concussion protocol. Although he hasn't been cleared for game action just yet, he was cleared for practice and participated in Wednesday's session with the team. Hart won't be available against the Sharks on Thursday, but the hope is he'll be cleared for Saturday's game against the Kings. Of course, recovering from a concussion is an unpredictable process, so everything is subject to how he's feeling over these next few days.

Sean Couturier – Recently started skating again.As of last week, he was still on track for a return in late February/early March. Couturier is recovering from back revision surgery, which he had in late October.

Matt Benning – Left Tuesday's game against Vancouver with an undisclosed injury. There were no updates on his status after the game, but we should get some more information in the coming days.

Torey Krug – The Blues defenseman is dealing with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated in six weeks. Expect Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk to see expanded offensive roles while Krug is sidelined.

Rasmus Sandin – Was moving well during Tuesday's morning skate, so he could return to the lineup very soon. Sandin is currently on the road with the team as they travel through Arizona on Thursday and Colorado on Saturday. If all goes well, he could return from a neck injury in one of these next two games.

Morgan Rielly – The Leafs' defenseman participated in Tuesday's morning skate and is expected to practice with the team on Wednesday. A more concrete return timetable may be available once the team sees how Rielly responds to practice.  The fact that he's travelling and practicing suggests he'll be able to return from a knee injury very soon.

Jonathan Marchessault – The Golden Knights' forward is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He's travelling with the team, so there's a chance he plays against the Ducks on Wednesday.

Shea Theodore – There haven't really been any updates since we learned he was week-to-week. I haven't seen any news of him skating, so I don't think he'll be back anytime soon.

Jack Eichel – GM Kelly McCrimmon did not want to give a timetable for Eichel's return from a lower-body injury. McCrimmon simply said that the team received a few medical opinions and have a treatment plan in place, but it's unclear how long recovery will take. Eichel has missed ten of Vegas' last 11 games due to this injury.

T.J. Oshie – Skated with his teammates on Wednesday, but wasn't taking any contact. An upper-body injury has kept him out of the lineup since December 17^th.

Martin Fehervary – Was taking contact during Washington's recent team skates, which suggests he's getting close to returning from an upper-body injury. Coach Peter Laviolette echoed the message that Fehervary is close, but it doesn't sound like the Caps' defenseman will play against Ottawa on Thursday.

Nicklas Backstrom – Is currently in COVID protocol, disrupting what appears to be the latter stages of his recovery from offseason hip surgery. 

Tom Wilson – Continues to skate with the team frequently. Although he won't play against the Senators on Thursday, it sounds like his return is just around the corner. As a reminder, Wilson had surgery to reconstruct a torn ACL in his left knee back in late-May. The procedure came with a recovery timeline of six to eight months, so it's realistic to expect a return now that seven months have passed.

John Carlson – Will be sidelined long term (i.e., at least more than a week) after taking a slap shot to the head during Friday's game against the Jets.

Cole Perfetti – The Jets forward will be sidelined for seven to ten days because of an upper-body injury. The 20-year-old is having a solid season with 20 points through 33 games.

Blake Wheeler – Recently underwent groin surgery and will be sidelined for at least a month.

Nikolaj Ehlers – Is at least two weeks away from a return. He's working his way back from sports hernia surgery, which he had on November 23^rd.