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 last week's article. If you ever need injury updates for a specific player, shoot me a message on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza.

Craig Smith – The 32-year-old winger has missed Boston's past two games with a nagging upper-body injury. He practiced with the team on Wednesday and it sounds like he should be available for Boston's next game, scheduled on Saturday in Philadelphia. 

Craig Anderson – The Sabres netminder is reportedly dealing with head/neck issues after taking a hard hit in a game against San Jose back in early November. While it doesn't seem like a long-term issue, you have to exercise a great deal of caution when recovering from an injury to head/neck area.

Victor Olofsson – Has been sidelined for the past couple weeks with a soft-tissue injury. While he has been able to skate, the injury has been most troublesome when Olofsson shoots the puck. The team has done extensive testing and imaging – none of which revealed anything serious. It just seems like the healing process is taking longer than they expected for an injury of this nature. With all this in mind, it's hard to put a timeline of Olofsson's return right now.

Casey Mittelstadt – Has been skating on his own and progressing well in his recovery from an upper-body injury, gradually increasing the intensity of his workouts. It sounds like he'll be out for roughly two more weeks.   

Brett Pesce – It's been about two weeks since we learned that the Hurricanes defenseman was out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. He was a full participant in Tuesday morning's skate, so it seems like he's getting closer to a return.

Tyler Johnson – Was supposed to be evaluated for his neck stiffness on Tuesday, but we haven't heard anything about the results of those tests just yet. Earlier in the week, coach Derek King said there was a chance Johnson returns during the team's current four-game road trip, so it sounds like he's getting close.

J.T. Compher – Will be sidelined for about a month with an upper-body injury.

Bowen Byram – Is in concussion protocol after taking an elbow to head during Thursday's game against Vancouver. He was feeling good as a full participant in practice on Friday, one day after taking the head contact. However, things took a turn for the worse on Saturday and now he'll be staying off the ice until he feels better. Recovering from a concussion is an unpredictable process so there's no timeline for his return.

Nathan MacKinnon – Last week, it was announced that Colorado's star center would miss three weeks with a lower-body injury. We have another couple of weeks left in that timetable but it sounds like MacKinnon is doing well, not limping or wearing a brace. In his absence, it seems like Mikko Rantanen is centering Gabriel Landeskog and Logan O'Connor on the top line.

Pavel Francouz – Has been working out off the ice and skating on his own as he works his way back from a sprained ankle. There's still no timetable for his return. 

Max Domi – The Blue Jackets forward has been skating the past few days, but there's no concrete timetable for his return. He was recently sidelined with COVID, so it may take some time for his conditioning to get back to 100-percent.

Braden Holtby – The Stars netminder is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that has lingered since training camp. The hope is for him to get back on the ice on Wednesday or Thursday, after which they can determine his status for Thursday night's game in Minnesota.

Mike Smith – The 39-year-old netminder has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained on October 19^th against the Ducks. Smith had been skating recently but suffered a setback during practice last week. He was sent to Edmonton for further evaluation while the team closed out the final games of their road trip. Now that the Oilers have returned home, we should get an update on Smith's status in the coming days.

Aleksander Barkov – Left Tuesday's game against the Islanders after a knee-on-knee hit fromScott Mayfield.He's officially week-to-week with a lower-body injury that won't require surgery, but will require some time to rehab.

Viktor Arvidsson – The Kings winger returned to practice on Tuesday, skating beside his usual linemates, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Arvidsson had been in COVID protocol recently and dealt with an unrelated illness shortly after exiting the protocol. The team will monitor his energy and conditioning as they look to get him back in the lineup soon.

Mike Hoffman – The Canadiens forward will be sidelined for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Hoffman has five power play points in 13 games this season. As a team that struggles to score, Montreal will certainly miss his contributions with the man advantage.

Jake Allen – Suffered a concussion in last Saturday's game against the Red Wings and is officially day-to-day. The hope is that Allen will be able to return Saturday against Nashville, but recovering from a concussion is a highly unpredictable process. With both Allen and Carey Price sidelined, Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau are sharing the net in Montreal.

Joel Edmundson – Has been progressing well in his recovery from a lower-body injury, stringing together consecutive days of on-ice training. If all goes according to plan, Edmundson should start practicing with the team this week. I have a feeling that Edmundson's return will help Jeff Petry bounce back from a very slow start.

Filip Forsberg – No real updates since we learned that Forsberg was week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He didn't travel with the team to Toronto, so I don't expect he'll travel to Montreal as the Predators finish their two-game road trip against the Canadiens on Saturday.

Ryan Pulock – He sat out of Tuesday's game against Florida with a 'lower-body injury'. Reports indicate that he blocked a shot with his right foot/ankle during Monday's game against the Lightning and could be sidelined for some time. He's currently being evaluated so we should hear more over the next few days.

Sammy Blais – The Rangers winger will be sidelined for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL in his right knee. He'll have surgery to repair the tear and is expected to recover in six to eight months.

Ryan Ellis – This past Saturday, Ellis returned to the lineup after missing nine games with a lower-body injury. Unfortunately, he re-aggravated the injury and is now out on a week-to-week basis. Reports indicate Ellis has been placed on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) and will therefore be required to miss at least 10 games and 24 days. As a result, the earliest he can return is December 8^th against the Devils.

Brayden Schenn – Last week, the Blues announced that Schenn was day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He's been working through some skating and stick-handling drills recently, but there's no timetable for his return.

Erik Cernak – Sustained an upper-body injury against the Hurricanes last Tuesday. According to coach Jon Cooper, Cernak is probably another week away from returning.

Petr Mrazek – Has another three weeks left in the original recovery timetable for his groin injury. A recent assessment went very well and it sounds like Mrazek could get start skating again this weekend.

Alec Martinez – Suffered a facial laceration during Thursday's clash with the Wild, which has kept him out of Vegas' last two games. It was a pretty serious cut as over 50 stitches were needed to close it up. Martinez underwent testing to ensure that what he's dealing with is just a cut, and that no nerve damage or anything like occurred on the play. Those tests produced good results, so it doesn't sound like he'll be sidelined long term.

Max Pacioretty – The Golden Knights forward is out of his walking boot. He's been week-to-week with a lower-body fracture for about a month now and we haven't heard too much about the recovery process. Now that he's out of the walking boot, hopefully he'll be able to start skating soon.

Shea Theodore – Left Tuesday's game against the Hurricanes after he lost an edge and slammed his head into the boards. He was able to skate off the ice by himself but there weren't any other updates after the game. 

Evgenii Dadonov – Left Tuesday's game against Carolina after taking a stick to the face. We weren't given updates after the game so his status for Thursday's clash with the Red Wings remains up in the air.

Anthony Mantha – Had shoulder surgery on November 5^th and won't travel with the team on their road trip of the West Coast. While no concrete timetable has been assigned to his recovery, he's going to be out long term.

T.J. Oshie – Participated in Tuesday's practice but wasn't taking any contact. He's been sidelined with a lower-body injury for the past few weeks after blocking a shot with his right foot on October 27^th. Oshie is travelling with the Capitals on their current road trip, which includes three more games. If he responds well to a full-contact practice in these next few days, he could potentially face the Sharks on Saturday or the Kraken on Sunday.

Nicklas Backstrom – The Capitals center is not travelling with the team on their West Coast road trip. As such, he'll miss the next three games before the team reassesses his status when they return home to host the Canadiens next Wednesday.  

Paul Stastny – The Jets forward is dealing with a foot injury. Medical staff will monitor his status and decide if he should travel with the team for a back-to-back set against Edmonton and Vancouver on Thursday and Friday.

NHL's COVID-19 Protocol List

Below is a list of fantasy-relevant players that are currently sidelined due to COVID protocols. 

Players can end up on this list for a number of different reasons, including an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed and subject to confirmatory testing, mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals, required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol, isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol (Source: NHL.com).

Dylan Larkin – Was removed from Tuesday's game against the Stars due to COVID protocol. It sounds like Larkin was tested in the morning and a positive result came back during the game.

Josh Bailey – Is in COVID protocol.

Matt Murray – Is in COVID protocol.

Drake Batherson – Tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. Based on what I've seen, players that test positive usually have to isolate for 10 days, so Batherson will probably be sidelined for at least another week. With that being said, the league postponed Ottawa's three games this week because of a COVID outbreak within the team. As such, the Sens aren't scheduled to play until next Monday in Colorado. I don't think Batherson will be eligible to play in that game, but we should get more updates in the coming days.

Connor Brown – Is in COVID protocol.

Jonathan Marchessault – Is in COVID protocol.

Lars Eller – Is in COVID protocol.