Here’s the latest injury news from across the NHL! If you’re looking for information about a certain 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. This will be my last week covering the Injury Ward, but don't fret, I'll be leaving you in the very capable hands of Blake Creamer. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BlakeCreamerAG.

Jamie Drysdale – The Ducks' defenseman has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since October 15th. Coach Greg Cronin recently revealed that it's really hard to pinpoint recovery time with the type of injury Drysdale is dealing with. The medical staff doesn't want him coming back early and risking re-injury, so Drysdale needs to be 100% healthy before returning.

Jason Zucker – Has been practicing without contact recently and is expected to return to the lineup November 11th, when the Coyotes visit Nashville. Zucker has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since October 21st.

Dylan Cozens – The 22-year-old forward is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but reports indicate he's progressing very well. He was on the ice for Wednesday's practice, but wasn't taking contact. Cozens said he hopes to play this weekend. Buffalo takes on Minnesota Friday and Pittsburgh Saturday.

Mattias Samuelsson – Samuelsson's lower-body injury isn't believed to be a long-term issue, but he's expected to be out for 'a little bit'. As a result, I wouldn't expect him to be available this weekend against Minnesota or Pittsburgh. He skated by himself prior to Wednesday's practice.

Frederik Andersen – Recent medical tests revealed that Andersen has a blood clotting issue. Although there's no timetable for his return, the most important thing is that he's expected to make a full recovery. With Andersen sidelined, Carolina's goalie tandem currently consists of Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov. Jaroslav Halak is also on a tryout with the team, presumably to fill in a backup role so Kochetkov can see more consistent action in the AHL.

Brett Pesce – On Tuesday, Pesce participated in morning skate while wearing a full-contact sweater. Granted, morning skates tend to be less intense than full-fledged practices, but it's still an encouraging step in his recovery process. Two weeks ago, the Hurricanes' defenseman had surgery to remedy a lower-body injury. The procedure came with a recovery timeline of two-to-four weeks.

Patrik Laine – Has responded well to solo skates recently but there's still no timetable for his return. The Blue Jackets forward is officially week-to-week with an upper-body injury, sustained after a late hit on October 20th against Calgary. Although the team hasn't publicly labelled Laine's injury a concussion, most signs point to that conclusion. Recovering from a concussion tends to be an unpredictable process because of how much symptoms can vary each day. That's why he needs to be evaluated frequently, and also why it's hard to narrow down a return date right now.

Matt Duchene – Left Saturday's game against Vancouver after taking a hit up high. He's officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It's a tough break for Duchene, who looked like he was finally settling in with the Stars, posting points in five-straight games before that clash with the Canucks.

Brandon Montour – Coach Paul Maurice says there's a chance Montour returns after the team's trip to California. Florida's final game of that road trip is on November 17th in Anaheim, setting the stage for Montour to return when the Panthers host the Oilers on November 20th. Montour is working his way back from a mid-June shoulder surgery, which came with a recovery timetable of four-to-six months. Five months later, it seems his return will fall in the middle of that original window. Montour should spark new life into Florida's power play, which currently sits 26th in the league with a disappointing 13.5% success rate. He posted 33 points with the man advantage through 80 games last year, helping Florida to a 22.8% conversion rate.

Aaron Ekblad – The information from Montour's update above also applies to Ekblad, although Ekblad had his procedure a week after Montour, so he's expected to return roughly a week later.

Sam Bennett – The Panthers' forward is officially out week-to-week. Bennett had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since the preseason, initially seen wearing a walking boot on his left leg. Unfortunately, during Bennett's season debut last Monday, Hampus Lindholm put weight on that same leg, presumably re-aggravating the injury. With Bennett sidelined, Anton Lundell is currently centering Florida's second line with Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. Florida has a great schedule this week, with three more games on light nights. Currently rostered in just 7% of Yahoo Leagues, Lundell could be a great short-term stream.

Jared Spurgeon – Has been a regular participant in practice over the past week, which suggests a return is imminent. Spurgeon is currently travelling with the team, so it's possible we see him back in the lineup against the Rangers on Thursday, or the Sabres on Friday. On October 6th, we learned Spurgeon would be sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury, suffered during a preseason clash with Chicago.

Ryan McDonagh – Nashville's blueliner has missed the team's last two games and is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury. McDonagh is a strong asset in leagues that track blocks, having posted 2.5 per game so far this year.

Jack Hughes – New Jersey's young star is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, sustained after crashing into the boards shoulder-first during Friday's battle with the Blues. It's believed he's dealing with an injury to his right shoulder, which doesn't seem to be related to previous ailments. That's worth noting because Hughes missed significant time during the 2021-22 campaign due to a dislocated left shoulder. The 22-year-old forward got off to an incredible start this year, posting 20 points in his first 10 appearances.

Nico Hischier – As far as I've seen,there haven't been any reports of Hischier skating or practicing recently. New Jersey's captain has been sidelined since taking a hit to the head last Friday against Buffalo. Officially, Hischier is being evaluated day-by-day for what the team is calling an upper-body injury. That said, the signs suggest he's dealing with a concussion or something similar. 

Bo Horvat – Hasn't been practicing recently and is officially day-to-day. Horvat likely suffered the injury after taking a shot off his ankle during Saturday's clash with the Hurricanes.Fortunately, he's travelling to Boston for Thursday's battle with the Bruins, so he could be available for that game.

Igor Shesterkin – New York's top netminder has been day-to-day with minor soreness. Fortunately, he was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. Depending on how Shesterkin responds to the session, he could be available when the Rangers face Minnesota on Thursday. That being said, there's no rush to get him back in the lineup because 37-year-old backup Jonathan Quick has been surprisingly strong this year, sporting a .948 save percentage and 1.42 GAA through four appearances.

Filip Chytil – The Rangers' second-line center is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He hasn't been skating recently and a source suggests Chytil is dealing with a concussion, concerning news given his history of head injuries. In Chytil's absence, Vincent Trocheck has been skating between Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere.

Adam Fox – One of the league's top defenseman was recently placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). Being on LTIR requires a player to miss 10 games and 24 days of action, so Fox wouldn't be eligible to return until November 29th when the Rangers face the Red Wings. Whether or not he'd be healthy enough to return for that game is a different question, considering he still hasn't started skating. With Fox sidelined, Erik Gustafsson has been promoted to the Rangers' star-studded top power-play unit.

Ridly Greig – The 21-year-old forward is dealing with a lower-body injury and won't be available for at least two weeks.

Artem Zub – Will be a game-time decision ahead of Wednesday's tilt with Toronto. Zub has been a full participant in recent practices, out day-to-day since taking a puck to the side of the head on October 18th.

Carter Hart – Philadelphia's top netminder is officially day-to-day with a mid-body injury. He's currently with the team on its road trip, which includes stops in Anaheim Friday, LA Saturday, and Carolina Wednesday. Hart participated in Monday's practice, which suggests he's nearing a return and could be available for one of those next three games. With Hart absent, Samuel Ersson has taken over starting duties for the Flyers. Ersson has a 3.90 GAA and .815 save percentage through four games this year, so there's no rush to add him in fantasy formats.

Tristan Jarry –  Left Tuesday's game against the Ducks after taking some contact to the head. Jarry's currently being evaluated, but there's understandably some concern he's dealing with a concussion or something similar. With Alex Nedeljkovic out due to a lower-body injury, third-string netminder might step into a starting role for Pittsburgh if Jarry ends up missing time.

Alexander Barabanov – Looks ready to skate soon, but it'll still be about a month before Barabanov is ready to return from a broken finger.

Logan Couture – San Jose's captain hasn't been skating recently. He had been skating weeks ago, but suffered a setback and is now staying off the ice until he feels better. The team intends to give Couture as much time as he needs to rest before he starts skating again. It makes no sense to rush him back and risk this becoming a long-term issue, especially when you consider the team's lack of playoff aspirations. This is the second setback Couture has suffered during his recovery from a lower-body injury that's kept him out since training camp.

Brandon Tanev – Has been skating with the team without taking contact. On October 16th, we learned Tanev would be out four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury. It seems plausible he'll be able to return within the next week or so, adhering to the short end of that timetable. Once we see him taking contact in practice, we can start anticipating a return.

Andrei Vasilevskiy – Jon Cooper says Vasilevskiy should be back around American Thanksgiving, setting a return window between November 23rd and December 1st. As you probably know, shortly before the season began, Vasilevskiy underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.

Jake McCabe – The 30-year-old defenseman has been practicing recently, but it seems a groin injury will cause him to miss his sixth-straight game on Wednesday, when the Leafs host the Senators.

Nicolas Roy – Has been skating on his own recently but it doesn't sound like he'll be ready to face the Kings on Wednesday. An undisclosed injury has kept Roy out of the lineup since October 24th.

Nicolas Hague – Is dealing with a lower-body injury and hasn't been skating with the team recently. As a result, I wouldn't expect Hague to play against the Kings on Wednesday night.

Max Pacioretty – Has started skating on his own and seems to have responded well to those first few solo skates. Once he gets a few solo skates under his belt, the next step will be practicing without contact, and then practicing with contact. There's still a lot of ground to cover, and we're still weeks, if not months away, from Pacioretty making his season debut, but it's encouraging that we're finally approaching that return runway. As a reminder, he's working his way back from a twice-torn Achilles tendon – torn once in August 2022 and once in January 2023.

Evgeny Kuznetsov – Will be a game-time decision for Wednesday's game against Florida as he's been dealing with an illness for the past few days.

Nicklas Backstrom – It's unlikely the 35-year-old center plays again this season. Last Wednesday, Backstrom announced that he'd been taking some time away from the game due to his ongoing injury situation. He didn't go into detail, but it's fair to assume this is related to the hip issues he'd faced in recent years, which even affected everyday activities like walking and putting on shoes. In June 2022, Backstrom underwent a hip resurfacing surgery. Not many hockey players have had the procedure, and the two that did, Ed Jovanovski and Ryan Kesler, weren't able to play much longer afterwards. It sounds like Backstrom will be using this time to consider his next steps, one of which is likely retirement.

Gabriel Vilardi – It's been about three weeks since we learned a sprained MCL would keep Vilardi out for four-to-six weeks. Although he's been doing some strength training, he hasn't started skating just yet.