Kessel battling injury, Tyler Seguin scores twice, go pick up Scott Darling.

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It was a busy Saturday filled with well staggered NHL games, but before we breakdown all the action let’s do a quick recap of injuries. 

It was reported by Sportsnet’s Damien Cox on Hockey Night in Canada that Toronto Maple Leafs first liner Phil Kessel is battling multiple injuries, including his back and something to do with his hand. For whatever it’s worth Kessel was all but invisible in Toronto’s victory Saturday, aside from one eventful shift early in the third period. He finished with just two shots on goal, no points, and was a -1 on the night…

Kessel isn’t likely to miss time due to his injuries, at least not without a setback, but it’s still tough news for Kessel fantasy owners – particularly if it impacts his production.

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Corey Perry does indeed have a knee injury of some severity, the result of a massive Keith Ballard hip check on Friday night, but the Anaheim Ducks won’t be able to judge his status until they return from their current road trip. 

Perry has been an absoute beast when he’s been in the lineup this season, and is a top-20 fantasy asset based on his averages in the early going (assuming a league that uses G, A, PPP, +/-, shots, and hits as cats). His loss is a huge one for fantasy owners, and for the Ducks, though Anaheim may have more of a cushion in the Pacific Division than expected (let’s circle back to this). 

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Alex Steen was a late scratch for the Blues on Saturday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, it doesn’t sound like he’ll miss a tonne of time. Mike Cammalleri also sustained a lower-body injury on Saturday night, and his injury could be more severe. The Devils were playing their cards close to the vest on Saturday, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Cammalleri was week to week. Finally, Montreal Canadiens forward Lars Eller missed Saturday’s game and will have an MRI on Monday to discuss the severity of his upper-body injury. Obviously he could miss an extended period, depending on the results of his MRI.

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In positive injury news it seems like Patrick Sharp could return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup on Tuesday, or at least that’s the date he’s targeting. It’ll be very interesting to see where he slots into the Blackhawks lineup once he’s back because, really, are you going to mess with that top-six group the way they’re rolling? Brad Richards, Patrick Kane, and Kris Versteeg have combined to give Chicago maybe their most potent second line of the Kane/Toews era, while Jonathan Toews has been superb with Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa on his wings. 

Could Sharp return in a third-line role, perhaps playing with Marcus Krueger or Ben Smith and Bryan Bickell? Sure seems like a possibility…

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Alright to yesterday’s action! 

In the early game, the Ottawa Senators left Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Christian Ehrhoff all alone in the slot late in the game, and he blasted a lazer past Craig Anderson for the gimme game winner. Ehrhoff had a strong game overall, with seven shots on goal, a goal (the game winner), a pair of hits and two PIMs. 

While Ehrhoff has been useful for the Penguins, logging major minutes against top-of-the-roster competition and coming out way ahead by on-ice goal differential at evens, that utility hasn’t really translated for fantasy owners. His solid game Saturday doesn’t exactly look like a sign of things to come either, as he saw less power-play ice than Paul Martin or Olli Maatta, so it’s not like this production boost was purely the result of Kris Letang being out of the lineup…

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Evgeni Malkin scored twice on Saturday for the Penguins, who were without Patric Hornqvist (and Chris Kunitz, and Pascal Dupuis), who continues to be evaluated for a potential head injury following a massive hit by Vancouver Canucks defender Ryan Stanton on Thursday.