Good morning, good afternoon, good evening everyone. Welcome to the Injury Ward. My name is Logan Clarkson and every Wednesday I will be chauffeuring you through injury news and updates from around the NHL. I'll do my best to offer useful analysis and opinion as it relates to fantasy throughout. As always I’d like to thank every single one of you for reading. Now, on to the bad (and some good) news.

Alexander Ovechkin / WSH – Ovechkin (rest) who missed a good chunk of games earlier in the year with a broken leg, was kept off the ice for the Capitals' last two skates. Fear not, for the Russian machine never breaks. This was just scheduled rest for the old bear and he is fully expected to be in the lineup for game five of their series against Carolina tomorrow (Thursday).

Mattias Ekholm / EDM – Ekholm, (undisclosed) who in the last few years has provided enough ammo to anyone arguing that he is the Oilers' number one defenseman, has been back on the ice skating this week as of Monday. He is apparently not all that close to being ready for games, but earlier talk gave him a chance to participate as early as the next round. Edmonton still has to manage finishing off Vegas by winning one of the next three games of their series in order to get the opportunity to slot him back into the top-four. If they do get him back, that defense is looking pretty good. With John Klingberg somehow turning into vintage Kling, spinning off of forecheckers and firing outlet passes at will, combined with the Oilers depth scoring almost at will lately, they will be a hard out regardless. The Oilers depth scoring lifting the ship is a completely new concept for them in the playoffs as Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl are usually the two tugboats in that harbor. With Draisaitl being pretty clearly unwell, in multiple ways it is coming at the perfect time for them.

Evan Rodrigues / FLA – Rodrigues (undisclosed) participated in practice this morning, but did not take line rushes as Adam Boqvist took his spot alongside Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Evan has three points in nine games this postseason, a bit under his regular season paces. Evan is out tonight for a pivotal game five in a deadlocked series. The Leafs are reeling after coming out hot with a two game series lead off the bat. Selfishly I would much rather see the Leafs advance since the Panthers have caused me great personal pain within the last year (and Willy Nylander is sex symbol in this household but I doubt my wife could pick him out of a lineup).

Brandon Saad / FLA – Saad (lower body) missed game four against Edmonton on Monday and has not had an update on his progress as of yet.

Jalen Chatfield / CAR – Chatfield (undisclosed) was absent from Carolina's practice this morning (Wednesday) after he apparently tweaked something toward the end of the Hurricane's 5-2 thumping of Washington on Monday. Chatfield has been holding down the fort at even strength this playoffs alongside Dmitry Orlov, with the pair averaging four minutes more a night than the next guys.

Miro Heiskanen / DAL – Heiskanen (knee) who was taken out in a game before playoffs by the always innocent Mark Stone, returned to the lineup on Tuesday for his first game of the playoffs and had an immediate impact. Miro posted a power play assist to put the Stars up three to one in the third period last night for Mikael Granlund's hat-trick. He doesn’t appear To be at full health, but that’s still an improvement for Dallas.

Calvin Pickard / EDM – Pickard (lower body) is still day to day after having a Knight's player sit on his leg two games ago after he picked the Oilers goaltending situation out of the gutter and secured them six wins in a row. Pickard took over for Stuart Skinner after his abysmal first two starts against the Los Angeles Kings that found them in a two nothing hole in the series. Pickard helped the Oilers climb the ladder all the way to a two nothing series lead against the Golden Knights.

Anthony Stolarz / TOR – Stolarz (upper body) was the recipient of a limb to the head earlier this week courtesy of passerby, and also always innocent, Sam Bennet. Fault aside, it was an ugly scene with Anthony spewing guts on the bench before being stretchered out of the arena to the nearest hospital for observation. Good news, he is back on the ice. Bad news, there is no timeline for his return and head injuries are still quite perplexing for all involved. I really hope he is not being rushed back, his choice or otherwise.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson / TOR – OEL (illness) was a full participant in Florida's optional morning skate today and is expected to be a part of the squad for their clash with the Leafs in game five this evening. Oliver has managed four points in 10 games through these playoffs while skating an average of 19:15 a night. He split time between a pairing with Simon Benoit and Morgan Reilly last game, while being on the top powerplay as well.

Thanks again for reading, and please give me a follow, you can find me here on Twitter/X @LOGoalz for any questions, concerns, or abuse you may want to shower me with. Have a great week people!