Injury Ward: Schmaltz; Lehkonen; Hyman; Fiala; Chabot; Stamkos; Ovechkin & More

Brennan Des

2023-03-15

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.

Nick Schmaltz – The Coyotes' forward wasn't on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate and is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Schmaltz has quietly put together another excellent season, tallying 46 points through 50 appearances. Arizona has a favourable schedule next week with three games scheduled on light nights. The day-to-day designation makes me optimistic that this may be a short-term absence, in which case Schmaltz could be a great add for next week.

Taylor HallAlthough some reports suggest Hall recently started skating again, we haven't heard anything official from the Bruins. Coach Jim Montgomery has said that the team is hoping Hall will return for the playoffs. Currently on long term injured reserve (LTIR) with a lower-body injury, Hall is required to sit out for a minimum of 10 games and 24 days. Based on my math, he wouldn't be eligible to return until March 23rd, when the Bruins host the Canadiens. Although he should be eligible to return for that game, there's no guarantee he'll be healthy by then.

Eric ComrieThe Sabres' netminder is officially week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Although the week-to-week label suggests this won't be a short-term absence, Comrie is expected to return before the season ends.

Andrei SvechnikovOn Thursday,the 22-year-old forward will have reconstructive surgery on his right ACL. As a result, he won't be available for the rest of the regular season or the playoffs. With Svechnkov sidelined, the Hurricanes have been rolling Jesse Puljujarvi, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on one line, while Teuvo Teravainen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas round out the top-six.

Antti RaantaThe 33-year-old goaltendertweaked something in his groin during last Tuesday's clash with the Canadiens. Although coach Rod Brind'Amour doesn't think the injury is anything serious, Raanta hasn't been practicing recently, so it's unlikely he returns any time soon. The Hurricanes still have two capable goalies in Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, so there's no reason to rush Raanta back into the lineup.

Petr MrazekSuffered his third groin injury of the season during Tuesday's game against the Bruins. Mrazek won't be with the team as they kick off a five-game road trip on Thursday in Nashville, but it's possible he joins them at some point during the trip.

Jonathan ToewsChicago's captain has been working out off the ice, but there's no timetable for him to start skating again. As we discussed a few weeks ago, Toews is dealing with symptoms of Long COVID and chronic immune response syndrome (CIRS). He’s been battling through fatigue and soreness ever since returning from his CIRS diagnosis in September of 2021.

Artturi LehkonenColorado's winger broke his finger during Monday's game against Montreal. He's expected to miss roughly four to six weeks of action while he recovers from surgery. During Tuesday's practice, Evan Rodrigues was skating on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, while Denis Malgin skated on line two with Valeri Nichushkin and J.T. Compher.

Gabriel LandeskogAlthough it's still unclear whether he'll be able to return this season, Landeskog seems to be moving better during his solo skates. Colorado's captain has been on the shelf since undergoing knee surgery in October. He also had knee surgery in March 2022, but we recently learned that the procedure he underwent in October was a less serious arthroscopic procedure. Unfortunately, recovery has taken much longer than originally expected.

Elvis MerzlikinsIs currently with his family in Latvia as his grandmother is seriously ill.

Scott WedgewoodHas been skating recently, which indicates he's getting closer to a return. Wedgewood first sustained a minor lower-body injury during his last appearance, which was February 18th against the Blue Jackets. Then on March 1st, we learned he suffered a setback in practice. With Wedgewood sidelined, 25-year-old Matt Murray has been playing backup to Jake Oettinger.

Tyler SeguinHad his leg cut by a skate during Thursday's game against the Sabres. Fortunately, it was just a superficial cut that didn't slice any muscle fibres, tendons, or nerves. However, it's in a position where it'll keep opening up every time he bends his leg, which is why he isn't skating right now. He's officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury and it's possible he joins the team in Edmonton on Thursday or in Calgary on Saturday.

Mason MarchmentThe Stars forward hurt his knee against Seattle on Monday and has flown back home to Dallas. With the team currently on a road trip through Western Canada, it seems unlikely Marchment will play against the Oilers on Thursday or the Flames on Saturday.

Zach HymanWas held out of Tuesday's game against the Senators because he was "dinged up". Such a description suggests it's not a major injury, so there's a chance Hyman is available against the Stars on Thursday.

Kevin FialaHasn't skated since sustaining a lower-body injury against Colorado on March 9th. The team is waiting to see how he responds to treatment but anticipates his absence will be short term

Sean DurziAlthough he's feeling better, an upper-body injury has prevented him from skating since March 6th. Considering he hasn't been on the ice for so long, it seems unlikely he faces the Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Marcus FolignoSustained a leg/ankle injury during Sunday's game against the Coyotes and is out day-to-day. Although Foligno won't play against the Blues on Wednesday, he may return against Boston on Saturday or Washington on Sunday.

Kirill KaprizovAs you've probably already heard by now, Minnesota's star forward will be sidelined for three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. That announcement was made about a week ago, so he should be back in another two to three weeks. Sam Steel has been skating in Kaprizov's spot beside Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello for the past couple games but doesn't have much to show for it. Kaprizov is the catalyst of Minnesota's offense, so it'll be interesting to see if anyone can step up while he's sidelined. My money would be on Mathew Boldy.

Kirby DachOn March 9th, the Canadiens announced that Dach would be sidelined indefinitely due to a lower-body injury. The good news is he skated by himself on Saturday. Although there's an ominous tone to the word indefinitely, the fact he's been skating recently makes me think there's a chance he returns this season.

Ryan McDonagh – Missed Tuesday's dance with Detroit and is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Filip ForsbergOn Tuesday, we learned that Forsberg is still day-to-day – a status he's held for over a month now. He's skated without taking contact in recent weeks, but will need to get through a full-contact practice before we can start talking about him coming back. Seeing as he still hasn't been cleared for contact, I don't think a return is imminent. Since Forsberg's head (helmet) seemed to make contact with the ice when he got injured on February 11th, it's likely he's dealing with a concussion or something like it. That would explain why the recovery process has been so unpredictable thus far.

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Mackenzie BlackwoodHas been skating with the team frequently this past week and says he's feeling good, but there's still no timetable for his return. The Devils' netminder has been out with a lower-body injury for the past three weeks. Akira Schmid was called up to replace Blackwood and has performed very well, sporting a .944 save percentage and 1.34 GAA over five games. In contrast, starting netminder Vitek Vanecek holds a 3.59 GAA and .862 save percentage through seven games since Blackwood went down. Granted, Vanecek has had to face tougher competition, but it'll be interesting to see if Schmid can steal a few starts going forward.   

Mathew BarzalRemains week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Although he isn't using crutches and doesn't seem to have a limp, there's no timetable for him to start skating again.

Ryan LindgrenWas a full participant in Friday's practice and seemed on the cusp of a return, but he didn't end up playing in New York's next three games (Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday). Lindgren didn't participate in Tuesday's morning skate, doing some off-ice conditioning instead. Given that information, it's possible he suffered a setback – but that's purely my speculation. Officially, he's still day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Thomas ChabotHobbled off the ice after blocking a shot during Sunday's game against the Flames. Chabot was on the ice briefly for Tuesday's morning skate, but left almost immediately and didn't end up playing against the Oilers that same evening. He was listed as a game-time decision, which suggests the injury isn't too severe.

Cam Talbot – As was announced shortly after last week's article was posted, the Senators netminder will be sidelined with a mid-body injury for three weeks (two remaining). Ottawa's rookie goaltending tandem of Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese have conceded four or more goals in five-straight games since Talbot went down.

Carter HartWasn't available for Tuesday's game against the Golden Knights because he was sick. Fortunately, the Flyers have two days off before their next game, scheduled on Friday against Buffalo. Hopefully that gives Hart enough time to recover.

Sean CouturierOn Tuesday,Couturier participated in his first team skate since undergoing back revision surgery in late October. Although he wasn't taking contact, he said he's feeling much better now than he did at the same stage of recovery from a previous back surgery. Although it doesn't seem logical to bring him back and risk re-injury when the Flyers aren't in the playoff race, there may be some metal benefits for Couturier to get in a few games now if he's truly at 100%.

Travis KonecnyHas been skating on his own recently, but there's no timetable for his return from an upper-body injury. On February 28th, General Manager Chuck Fletcher said the team would have an update on Konecny after three weeks. Based on that timeline, we should hear more about the Flyers winger in the next week or so.

Jeff PetryLeft Tuesday's tilt with Montreal due to an undisclosed injury. Coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update on Petry's status after the game, simply saying his defenseman was being evaluated.

Steven StamkosMissed Tuesday's game against the Devils and has been labelled day-to-day with a lower-body injury.It's worth noting thathe didn't finish Saturday's game against Chicago as he seemed to hurt his leg. Coach Jon Cooper said Stamkos was fine after that game as he ended up playing the next day against Winnipeg. However, it wouldn't surprise me if this absence was related to that injury.

Ryan O'ReillyOn Tuesday, General Manager Kyle Dubas said he expects O'Reilly to return before the playoffs. Toronto's two-way center will still need a few more weeks to recover from surgery to repair a broken finger.

Keegan KolesarThe Golden Knights forward is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Adin Hill(One of) Vegas' (many) netminder(s) has been dealing with a lower-body injury and hasn't been practicing recently. There haven't been many recent updates on Hill's status – or the status of any injured Golden Knights really. Hopefully there's something to report next week.

Alex OvechkinMissed Tuesday's game against the Rangers due to a lower-body injury. As I write this, his status for Wednesday's battle with Buffalo remains up in the air.

John CarlsonRecently skated with the team while wearing a no-contact jersey. We discussed last week how Carlson was targeting a return near the end of March, and this seems to fall in line with that plan. However, there are likely many more boxes for him to check before coming back. Carlson is working his way back from a significant head injury, sustained on December 23rd when he took a slap shot up high.

Pierre-Luc Dubois – Has been sidelined with an upper-body injury recently but is expected to return to the lineup on Thursday, when Winnipeg hosts the Bruins.

Josh Morrissey – A lower-body injury has prevented Morrissey from playing in Winnipeg's last two games. The good news is he's been skating with the team recently and it sounds like he could return for Thursday’s game against Boston. Morrissey has been outstanding this year, tallying 67 points through 66 appearances.

2 Comments

  1. Striker 2023-03-16 at 08:45

    Nothing new on Logan Thompson?

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