As the regular season comes to an end and the playoffs are upon us, here is an update regarding the latest NHL injury news:

David Krejci – Bruins Head Coach, Jim Montgomery, Is 'optimistic' about Krejci's recovery. Although he will miss the last two games of the regular season, he is expected to be back for the playoffs.

Craig Anderson – The oldest player in the league will play the final game of his career on April 13th. He has been injured a fair amount this campaign, but will be ready to play his former team in the regular season finale.

Patrik Laine – The former Jets star is still sidelined because of a triceps strain. He has not played since March 21^st, and won't play again this season.

#CBJ coach Brad Larsen said none of the club's injured players will return for the remaining two games, including captain Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Elvis Merzlikins.

Jenner has a lower back injury, though not as severe as the one that ended last season, Larsen said.

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 12, 2023

Boone Jenner – The captain was out of the lineup on April 11th, although he did participate in pregame warm-up. That bodes well for the recovery from another back injury.

Elvis Merzlikins – The starting goaltender has been out since March 25th. I wouldn't be surprised if he is wearing a Team Latvia jersey the next time that he is between the pipes.

Cale Makar – Avalanche Head Coach, Jared Bednar, expects the reigning Norris Trophy winner to be ready for the playoffs.

Artturi Lehkonen – The man who scored the Stanley Cup winning goal last season is getting closer to returning to the lineup.

Gabriel Landeskog – As of April 9th, Landeskog has not begun practicing with the team. The timetable for his return is still uncertain.

Josh Manson– The big defenseman will not play again in the regular season but is expected to be ready for the playoffs.

Mason Marchment – Dallas Head coach, Pete DeBoer, said that he is hopeful that Marchment will play before the end of the regular season is done. He is fully participating in practice.

Dylan Larkin – The big Detroit centre missed the team's April 11th game with an undisclosed injury, his status for the regular season finale is uncertain.

Sam Bennett – The versatile forward has been dealing with a groin injury of late. He is expected to be back for the playoffs and possibly could play in the team’s regular season finale.

Kevin Fiala – The elite winger continues to be out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. It is unclear if he will play in the season finale on April 13th.

Gabriel Vilardi – Just like Fiala, Vilardi has been consistently listed as day-to-day by the Kings. While he is not of the same ilk as Fiala, Vilardi has scored 23 goals this year.

Joel Eriksson Ek – The big centre is listed as week-to-week right now, after blocking a shot on April 6th.

Roman Josi – The superstar blueliner is close to returning, according to GM David Poile. Although this is the case, I would be greatly surprised to see him dress in a meaningless season finale.

Filip Forsberg – The prolific goal scorer is travelling with the team, but I would be surprised to see him play in the team's final game of the 2022-23 campaign.

Mathew Barzal– The Islanders’ greatest dynamic force has been sidelined for over a month. It appears that the injury is either related to his leg or ankle. Barzal resumed skating on April 4th, so he could play in the not-too-distant future. The Islanders have one of the best goaltenders in the league this season and could surprise a few teams, especially if Barzal gets healthy. The only problem is that they could very well be facing the Boston Bruins to begin the playoffs, a difficult matchup for any team.

Thomas Chabot – The Senators top rearguard will not play again this season. I expect him to elevate his game to an even greater level next season because I believe that Ottawa will be a Stanley Cup contender, if they can address their goaltending situation.

Jakob Chychrun – The most sought-after player at the trade deadline won't play in any of the team's remaining games because of a hamstring injury.

Tony DeAngelo – The offensive dynamo hasn't played since March 28th. However, it hasn't been because of injury. DeAngelo currently is the top-scoring defenseman on the Flyers, having 16 more points than anyone else on the team who plays his position.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – The 2014 Olympic gold-medalist, did not play in the team's April 10th game against Winnipeg. He will not play again this season.

Andre Burakovsky – A return date isn't certain for the skilled winger, but the team hopes to have him back for the playoffs. It is important to remember that Burakovsky was the team's top offensive weapon before he was hurt in early February.

Tanner Jeannot – Tampa Bay paid an extremely high price to acquire the industrious forward at the trade deadline and it looks like he won't be able to play until the third week of April. The injury is related to his right leg after it got twisted up in an awkward collision.

Matt Murray – The man who backstopped the Penguins to two Stanley Cups has sustained a concussion and is out indefinitely. Despite playing well at the beginning of the year, Murray's inability to stay healthy has caused him to lose his starting job to Ilya Samsonov.

Mark Stone – The Golden Knights captain is practicing with the team in a non-contact jersey. I wouldn't be shocked to see him at some point in the playoffs, but it is unknown what his timetable is. Reading into the comments of Head Coach, Bruce Cassidy, it seems as though Stone returning to game action is a multi-step process, with skating being the first step.

Jack Eichel – The superstar's injury doesn't seem to be that serious. It appears as though they are just holding him out as a precaution. Keep in mind he has suffered a few injuries in his relatively short NHL career.

Shea Theodore – Although he did not play on April 11th, Theodore is skating. Some sources are reporting on the possibility that he could play in the final game of the regular season on April 13th, but his status remains uncertain.

Adin Hill – The goaltender finally returned to action by playing in an American Hockey League contest. He is now practicing with the Golden Knights and could be available soon, should the team turn to him. I don't expect him to see too much time in the playoffs because of the team's goaltending depth, but you never know.

Logan Thompson – The early-season Calder candidate is skating and participating in practices with the Golden Knights. It will be extremely interesting to see how their goaltending situation is handled in the playoffs.

Alexander Ovechkin – The greatest goal scorer of this generation did not make the trip to Boston for his team's game on April 11th. He has not played since April 6^th, due to injury. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't play again this season.

Cole Perfetti – The rookie returned to the ice on April 8th, he has been injured since early February. The organization believes he is still a couple weeks away from returning to action, but it is a good sign for the team. Based on the timelines given by the Jets, the beginning of the second round is probably when you should expect to see him in action.

I hope that you found this summary to be informative. Please contact me via LinkedIn if you have any questions or comments.

All the best in the week ahead!

– Cam MacDonald