Injury Ward: Keller; Merzlikins; Kravtsov; Farabee; Tavares & More

Brennan Des

2022-10-12

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

Clayton Keller – At the end of March, Keller had surgery to repair a fractured leg. The procedure came with a recovery timetable of four-to-six months – a period of time which has since passed. He was originally expected to make his preseason debut last week against Vancouver, but the team decided to play it safe and keep him out. This shouldn't be cause for concern as Keller stated in mid-September that he wasn't sure about his status for training camp, but his goal was to be ready for the first game of the regular season. Considering Keller is coming off a pretty major injury and the Coyotes don't have playoff aspirations this year, there's no reason to rush him back into the lineup.

Matt Grzelcyk – The Bruins defenseman underwent shoulder surgery in early June. The procedure came with a recovery timetable of five months, which would keep him sidelined until early November. On Friday, he took part in his first full-contact practice since having surgery, reaffirming coach Jim Montgomery's previous comments that he's ahead of schedule in his recovery. I think it's possible we see Grzelcyk return within the next week or so. Given his status as a puck-moving defenseman, I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the top power-play unit while Charlie McAvoy is sidelined.  

Taylor Hall – Was sidelined with an upper-body injury during the preseason but managed to practice with full contact on Monday. He's expected to play in Wednesday's season opener against Washington, likely slotting in beside Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk.

Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado's captain is still dealing with a lower-body injury from last season. On Tuesday, coach Jared Bednar reiterated there's no timetable for Landeskog's return. The team expects he'll be able to start skating again this week, but there's no need to rush him back.

Elvis MerzlikinsAn illness will prevent Columbus' number-one netminder from suiting up in the team's season opener on Wednesday. 23-year-old Daniil Tarasov will face the Hurricanes instead. Illnesses don't usually keep players sidelined for too long, so I wouldn't be surprised if Merzlikins is able to start one of the games in Columbus' back-to-back set this weekend. 

Joonas Korpisalo – The Blue Jackets netminder had hip surgery in late March, which came with a six-month recovery timetable. That timeline has run its course, but it seems Korpisalo needs a little more time before he returns. He's been practicing consistently and should be back relatively soon.

Gustav Nyquist – Was dealing with a minor lower-body injury during the preseason but is expected to play in Wednesday's regular season opener.

Andrew Copp – The 28-year-old center had core surgery in August and was expected to back during the first week of the regular season. That projection will come true as coach Derek Lalonde said Copp should be ready for the team's season opener on Friday against the Canadiens.

Jordan GreenwayHas been cleared for full contact – an encouraging step forward in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. With that being said, there's still no concrete timetable for his return.

Carey Price – In an interview with Arpon Basu of the Athletic, Price provided some insight into the knee injury that will likely prevent him from playing this season. The 35-year-old netminder deals with pain when simply walking up the stairs. He experiences swelling in his knee from everyday activities. If such common tasks are so difficult on his knee, it's hard to imagine he'll suit up for an NHL game again – especially considering he plays a position that puts so much stress on the knees. It seems the path back to hockey would be through an Osteochondral Autograft Transfer (OAT) surgery – an intrusive procedure that would fill a hole in the cartilage of his knee, using bone and cartilage from another area of his knee. Such a procedure isn't even guaranteed to solve the problem and could have adverse effects on his future life outside of hockey. Now please excuse me while I watch some of his highlights through teary eyes, celebrating the player that made me fall in love with hockey and the Canadiens years ago.

Mike MathesonThe Canadiens defenseman is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He wasn't on the ice for Tuesday's practice or Wednesday's morning skate, so I don't expect he'll be in the lineup when Montreal plays their first game of the season on Wednesday night. He had an MRI on Wednesday, so we should get another update on his status in the coming days.

Nico HischierNew Jersey's captain was recently sidelined with a hamstring strain he sustained during the preseason. He's been a full participant in recent practices and is expected to practice again on Wednesday, but his status for Thursday's season opener remains up in the air as I write this. Hischier should be considered day-to-day until we hear otherwise. 

Oliver Wahlstrom – Sustained an upper-body injury during the preseason but expects to be ready for New York's season opener on Thursday.

Vitaly Kravtsov – Suffered an upper-body injury after taking a hit during New York's first regular season game on Tuesday. He's been labelled day-to-day for now but the team is still waiting on more information about the severity of the injury. He won't travel with the team for its upcoming road trip, which means he's slated to miss at least the next two games.

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Sean Couturier – The Flyers' center is dealing with an upper-body injury that does not require surgery and there's no concrete timetable for his return. Couturier underwent season-ending back surgery in February and was fully cleared for training camp in September. However, he started feeling more pain than usual in those same areas and has been sidelined since. He's been skating frequently over the past few days and this is reportedly the best he's felt in months. The team is being cautious with his recovery, so he won't return until he's feeling 100%. It would be foolish to rush Couturier back into the lineup and jeopardize his health considering he's on contract for eight more years and the Flyers have no playoff aspirations this season.

Joel Farabee – Had disk replacement (neck) surgery in late June, which came with a recovery timeline of three to four months. It seems he's adhering to the shorter end of that timetable as he was recently cleared for contact and has been practicing with the team. I'd say all signs point to Farabee being in the lineup when Philly opens their season against New Jersey on Thursday.

Cam Atkinson – Coach John Tortorella is optimistic that an upper-body injury won't keep Atkinson out of the season opener on Thursday. Although the Flyers winger has been on the ice with his teammates recently, he hasn't been taking line rushes – which usually suggests a player isn't ready for an upcoming game.  

John Tavares – Has been a full participant in recent practices and expects to play in Toronto's season opener on Wednesday. He had been dealing with an oblique strain that was originally expected to sideline him for three weeks, but it seems he's good to go after just two weeks on the shelf.

Timothy Liljegren – Had hernia surgery a few weeks ago and is expected to be sidelined until mid-November. He was seen skating on Friday, handling pucks for the first time since undergoing the procedure. 

Brock BoeserHad hand surgery in late-September, a procedure which came with a recovery timeline of three to four weeks. It sounds like Boeser will return ahead of schedule as he was a full participant in Tuesday's practice and will be a game-time decision for Wednesday's season opener.

Ilya Mikheyev – In late September, Mikheyev was labelled week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He has been skating recently and was on the ice for Tuesday's practice. However, he wasn't taking line rushes, so I don't expect he'll be available for Vancouver's season opener on Wednesday.

T.J. Oshie – Sustained an upper-body injury during preseason action but has since recovered and will be in the lineup for game one of the regular season on Wednesday.

Dmitry Orlov – Was day-to-day with a lower-body injury during the preseason. Fortunately, Orlov has been skating with the team recently and will play in Washington's season opener on Wednesday.

Pierre-Luc Dubois – Sustained a minor lower-body injury during a preseason clash with Calgary. He's expected to be in the lineup when the Jets kick off their 2022-2023 campaign on Friday against the Rangers.

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