The Blues will be without Torey Krug who is going to be re-evaluated in six weeks, which likely means at best eight weeks that he's missing. It appears he was injured on the last shift of the Blues' final game before the break. Calle Rosen draws back into the lineup, and immediately scored last night. He was decently productive in his 18 games so far this season, but he's at risk of being healthy scratched again soon. Colton Parayko has also been on a roll the last few games, and would be worth a look in most leagues that he is available. Justin Faulk is running PP1, though the Blues do tend to run two fairly even units.

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The Avalanche have a whole laundry list of updates, best summarized here:

On @AltitudeSR, Bednar says Landeskog, Byram and Manson are not close to returning.

MacKinnon is skating and they think he's getting close.

Helm has no exact timeline. Kaut is week to week.

Cogliano will play tonight. Nichushkin expected to miss time. Frankie out as well.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) December 27, 2022

There's no need for them to rush anyone back, as long as they're ready to go for another run through the post-season. Don't expect any of their players to return for the shorter end of their timelines.

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The Sens also have quite a few updates:

DJ Smith- Motte has a broken finger, Chartier upper body, Brannstrom lower body, JBD is getting close. Joseph skated today but didn't feel good. We'll see again next week.

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) December 27, 2022

Nothing of huge fantasy value at this point, but missing key depth players like Tyler Motte, Mathieu Joseph, and Erik Brannstrom doesn't help the bottom line on the goalie value. Nikita Zaitsev also didn't return after leaving in the first period last night.

Most notably though, nothing new on Josh Norris who still has a bit of time left before his re-evaluation schedule to determine if he can return this season or will need surgery.

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Cole Perfetti is going to miss the next 10 weeks or so with a separated shoulder. Since Blake Wheeler is also out, the Jets have become a one-line team. That really takes the wind out of the sails of Michael Eyessimont and Sam Gagner who were riding some coattails in the top-six towards actual fantasy value, but now it's just extra minutes with third-line level linemates.

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With Jonathan Marchessault out, Michael Amadio saw 17 minutes of ice time with the top line in Vegas' last game before the break. He made the most of it with three points, then he scored again in last night’s game putting him up to six point in his last four. Vegas has a pretty light schedule the next two weeks though, so don't spend too much on him as a short-term waiver add.

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John Carlson is going to be out "long-term" – there might be a better update by the afternoon for the Injury Ward article. In the meantime, go grab Erik Gustavsson if he isn't already owned in your league. Tons of shots, and more points from a defenceman than anyone else that might be on your waiver wire.

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To finish off the injury notes, Sean Couturier skated yesterday, and though he isn't expected back soon, it's a step in the right direction where it seems like every other Flyer's player who gets injured then misses the rest of the season.

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Quentin Byfield is back up from the AHL. As Michael Clifford noted yesterday though, the Kings don't have a great upcoming schedule. In one-year leagues you can take the wait-and-see approach. In keeper leagues, this could be the low point of a buy-low window on him.

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Up on Florida's top line now is Colin White. He hasn't done much in the opportunities he has had thus far though, and it does seem as though the healthy bodies are starting to return for the Panthers.

It might be too little too late though, as they are seven points outside of a playoff spot with three extra games played over the current eight seed. If Florida is too far out by the trade deadline, we may see a few players like Anthony Duclair or Radko Gudas shipped off, creating a bit more of a permanent opportunity for players like White. More likely though is that young players like Eetu Luostarinen see even more minutes. He could be in line for a hot second-half after seeing his ice time rise three minutes already from Q1 to Q2, and there's still room for more.

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Michael Carcone was called up by the Coyotes, and took over Mattias Maccelli's top-line left wing slot. He is the AHL's current leading scorer, and it's not particularly close, as his 42 points in 27 games has him eight points up on the next closest player.

He scored in his debut, and put up two hits with two shots in what ended up being middle-six minutes.

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For some reason Pyotr Kochetkov has not started any of the Canes' last three games, despite two of those being back-to-back. There has been no word of an injury, and he was playing very well before suddenly riding the pine. Either the Canes are suddenly showcasing Annti Raanta for a trade, which works well with his exceptional performance the last few games, or Andersen is close to returning so they are giving Raanta his change to earn a spot on the roster and thus forcing Kochetkov down to the minors.

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Detroit's ninth overall pick from back in 2017 is not someone I think of often, but Michael Rasmussen has just crossed the 200-game mark, and is scoring at a 40-point pace despite only playing third line minutes. He's surviving as a third line centre which is tough to do as a young layer in the NHL, especially without top-tier linemates. He's a six-foot-six forward though, which makes him a usual longer wait because of the later (400-game) breakout threshold.

He has upside for 65 points, and could start to approach that sooner rather than later though with any kind of bump in ice-time and linemate quality.

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Looking into prospects outside of those playing at the World Juniors, and there's one player who has flown under the radar for the last while now. Henry Thrun is one of my favourite prospects who isn't one of the usual blue-chippers. His numbers in the NCAA are excellent, and rising every year. It's possible that he's done this summer with school, and could even get a few games as a trial at the end of the year. Anaheim has a complicated situation on the back-end, with Owen Zelleweger and Pavel Mintyukov the future, but not ready yet. The immediate future in Jaime Drysdale is injured and out until next season, and the current leader of the pack in John Klingberg is likely going to be shipped out at the trade deadline.

He has the means, the opportunity, and the talent. He may get overshadowed eventually by the future wave, but maximizing the shorter-term value is always ideal with prospects rather than waiting five years for one not to pan out anyways.

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Speaking of prospects, a few notes from what has been a very fun first two days at the World Juniors.

After some terrible luck with their defence core coming into the tournament, it looks like they're just fine. Adam Engstrom (MTL) and Ludvig Jansson (FLA) have taken the reigns, and though draft-eligible Axel Sandin-Pellikka hasn't put up many points yet, he's holding his own as a younger player. Will it be enough for Sweden to break their gold medal drought? If Isak Rosen has anything to say about it, then they're in good hands. Rosen has been one of the early stars of the tournament, and is making Buffalo look good with their selection back in 2021.

Jumping back to Carolina goalies, Nikita Quapp is making a good impression on the big stage, though with goalies, small sample sizes and long wait times often make them tough prospects to project. Quapp, as with any other goalie in this tournament, it's a sell-high opportunity if they put together a few good games.

It's painful to watch Finland mis-use their forwards. Brad Lambert is like a sports car, and they're using him to pull farm equipment with the bottom-six group. Joakim Kemell they're yo-yoing around, and his confidence is going along for the roller coaster ride. I'm getting Eeli Tolvanen vibes from the latest Preds pick, and at this point in time that is not a positive.

The Czechs look like the team to watch after steamrolling their first two games. Stanislav Svozil is becoming a star in front of our eyes, and the rest of the team including Jiri Kulich, and David Jiricek are looking like real risers as well. They'll all be pushing for NHL spots soon.

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See you next Wednesday!

In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter @alexdmaclean if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.