The injuries for the Columbus Blue Jackets have been piling up for the second year in a row, so anytime they can get some good injury news, it's a breath of fresh air. They got exactly that on Wednesday as forward Jack Roslovic was back skating after fracturing his ankle six weeks ago:

#CBJ players are back on the ice for morning skate ahead of tonight's first post-Christmas game at New Jersey.

Jack Roslovic is on the ice with the squad for the first time since suffering a fractured ankle Nov. 12

— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) December 27, 2023

The initial time line was 4-6 weeks, so this is at the far end of that range, but it's a good sign nonetheless. He may have a spot on the top line, depending on what they want to do with Justin Danforth, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

In the bad news department, Zach Werenski was injured in Wednesday night's game against New Jersey and left the game with some help midway through the second period. He did not return, and though we'll have to wait for further updates, it certainly didn't look good at the time. Aside from a drop in shooting percentage, Werenski had been an effective fantasy blue liner this season. Ivan Provorov took his spot on the top power play after the injury while Damon Severson ran the second unit. Severson returned just before the holiday break so maybe he's still on a waiver wire if anyone needs some deep defensive depth, depending on the updates on Werenski.

Columbus ended up losing that game 4-3 thanks to an overtime goal from Timo Meier. A late goal from Luke Hughes tied it up 3-3 a minute after Yegor Chinakhov gave the Blue Jackets the lead. Columbus also got goals from Jake Bean and Justin Danforth earlier. That was Chinakhov's 10^th goal of the season in his 25^th game; he had 11 goals in his first 92 games of his career, so he's a bit ahead of that pace.

Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist in the win while Simon Nemec had an assist, a shot, and seven blocked shots. Nemec is a player that always stands out when I watch him, and it's very often in a good way. He looks like a special player.

Meier now has four goals in three games and if he's starting to find his groove, that changes the entire outlook of the lineup.

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Mikhail Sergachev was again out for Tampa Bay, extending his absence that started two games before the holiday break. He was skating with the team at their morning skate so he does seem close to returning, but it was not on Wednesday night.

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Staying with injured defencemen, Scott Mayfield was skating with the Islanders on Wednesday:

Scott Mayfield participating in #Isles morning skate.

— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) December 27, 2023

It has been more than two weeks since Mayfield left the lineup, and with the team's ongoing injury problems on the blue line, any news is good news. He may be nearing a return and we'll pass along confirmation when it comes (Mayfield didn't play on Wednesday night).

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More news on another injured defenceman, this time Chicago's Seth Jones:

Seth Jones (shoulder) is expected to start skating by the end of the road trip, so it's unlikely he plays on the upcoming five-game trip.

Joey Anderson (shoulder) should start skating a little bit after Jones does, so he's still out for the foreseeable future. #Blackhawks

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 27, 2023

He did not play on Wednesday night and if he misses all five games on the road trip, he'll be out until January 7^th at the earliest. Kevin Korchinski may carry some fantasy value as he's back on the top PP unit since he returned, but let's be honest, Chicago's power play has not been good this year with Jones or without. Power play time is still power play time, though.

Alex Vlasic returned to the lineup on Wednesday, and he's also a candidate for extra minutes which would help boost his block rates even further, but that's about all he provides.

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One more bit of news on a defenceman as JJ Moser was still out of the lineup after being injured just before the break:

Coyotes coach Andre' Tourigny said that Karel Vejmelka will start in goal tonight against Colorado.
JJ Moser will not play.

— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) December 27, 2023

Sean Durzi came back before the holiday break so that's some good news, but this is not a team that is deep enough on the blue line to keep losing their top blue liners like this. Matt Dumba is in line for some PP2 time as long as Moser stays out (and may keep that role even once Moser returns).

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We had a slew of Minnesota Wild updates:

Gustavsson starts in net; Hartman IN, Spurgeon out again.

Zuccarello has skated, Brodin has not. #mnwild

— Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) December 27, 2023

That Jared Spurgeon is nearing a return is good news because this team needs the help. They have six wins in their last seven games (heading into Wednesday night's game against Detroit) but five of those wins have been via overtime or a shootout. They have been playing much better defensively over the last couple months, and getting their top defencemen back should only help.

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After mixing up their lines a bit right before the break, Dallas went back to their normal lineup to start their game on Wednesday. There have been some subpar fantasy performances from their top guys so maybe a changing of the lines will help, but they do seem committed to making this current iteration work.

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Vladislav Gavrikov was back in the lineup for Los Angeles after missing a few games before the holiday break. Whatever uptick in ice time Jordan Spence had seen (in some games) is now gone, but it will make life easier once again for the Kings goalies.

Calen Addison was also back in the lineup for San Jose in that late game.

Filip Zadina remained on the top line for the Sharks. That is where he needs to be if he's going to thrive on this team because there's just not enough talent – anywhere near enough talent – for him to find success (fantasy or otherwise) on the third and fourth lines.

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Andrew Mangiapane resumed his usual spot on Calgary's top line after his fourth-line demotion right before the holiday break. I will say this much: that he constantly gets the short-end of the stick (demotions, lack of PP time, etc.) while Jonathan Huberdeau constantly gets a pass is irritating. If only Huberdeau could start making passes rather than getting them from his coaches, this wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue.

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The Rangers washed the Capitals by a 5-1 margin in their first game back from the break. K'Andre Miller had a pair of goals, an assist, three shots, a block, and two hits in one of the best fantasy performances on the night (and of his career). The second line continued their incredible play as Artemi Panarin had a goal (PP) and an assist while Alexis Lafrenière scored his 10^th goal of the season. It took Laf until Game 55 to score his 10^th last season, so, like Chinakhov, he's a bit ahead of schedule here.

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Toronto jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over Ottawa, but the Senators hung around and scored four straight to take a 4-2 win from the Leafs. Drake Batherson scored twice on four shots. After starting the year with zero goals in seven games, Batherson has 13 goals and 25 points over his last 23 outings. Brady Tkachuk added the empty-net goal and he now has 16 in 30 games on the season. It took him 44 games to get that many last year when he set a career-high of 35, so this might be the real breakout season.

Matthew Knies and Tyler Bertuzzi had Toronto's goals. That was Bertuzzi's first goal in over a month and they need more of this from him because the team can't rely on Auston Matthews scoring twice a game to get their wins.

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Aaron Ekblad scored his first of the year and Sam Reinhart scored twice as Florida gritted a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay last night. Reinhart is now shooting over 24% on the season, so beware of regression and all that, but the top line has been phenomenal basically all season long. If the secondary scoring can kick in, this is a dangerous team.

Sergei Bobrovsky saved 27 of 29 shots in the win. He has now given up three or fewer goals in 21 of 26 starts this season; he has cut the rate of his four-plus-goals-against games in half from last year. The team is better defensively, and it's helped Bobrovsky to a very good fantasy season.

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Kris Letang had one of the best nights of hockey – fantasy or real – that we've seen in recent seasons by posting an absurd six assists in Pittsburgh's 7-0 dismantling of the New York Islanders. They were all at even strength, and five of them came in the second period alone (an NHL record for defencemen). With one shot, two blocks, and two PIMs, it was just an unbelievable night for him.

Marcus Pettersson recorded four helpers, Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists on three shots, and both Valtteri Puustinen and Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist in the win.

Tristan Jarry saved all 22 shots he faced for the shutout.

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Two goals from Charlie Coyle lifted Boston to a 4-1 win in Buffalo on Wednesday. He now has 12 goals on the year and is well on his way to breaking his prior career-best mark of 21 set back in 2015-16 with Minnesota. Brad Marchand had a pair of power play helpers on the night.

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Carolina's Sebastian Aho had a goal and three assists while Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Brent Burns had one of each in the team's 5-2 win in Nashville. Svech now has five points in his last four games and is up to 16 in 20 games on the season. He also has 41 hits so he's been pretty good, all told, when he's been able to stay on the ice.

Pyotr Kochetkov saved 35 of 37 shots for the win and, other than the blow-up right before the holiday break, has been pretty good this month. If he can keep doing this, it drastically changes the outlook of the team and would provide a great fantasy netminder for his managers.

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Marcus Johansson had two goals and an assist as Kirill Kaprizov posted one of each in Minnesota's 6-3 home win over Detroit. Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy, and Marcus Foligno also scored, and that pushes Boldy's December goal total to eight in 12 games. He has just 28 shots in that span, though, so the raw shot volume isn't there just yet. More pucks on target would be nice to see.

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist in the loss while Patrick Kane scored his fifth goal in four games for the Red Wings. Kane now has six goals and five assists since returning to action as he's been an offensive boon in the fantasy realm.

Simon Edvinsson registered his first career assist while adding three hits. Detroit is now mired in a 1-6 slump over their last seven games with the lone win being that wild 7-6 shootout win over Philadelphia.

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Sean Durzi had his best fantasy night of the season with a goal, three assists, two shots, and two blocks. Arizona reeled off five straight goals, including three in the third period and then Jack McBain's overtime winner, to come back from a 4-0 deficit and beat Colorado 5-4. Durzi cracked the 20-point mark and is now inside the top-25 defensive point producers despite time missed due to injury. Not a bad season from him thus far, even if a lack of hits and shots is hurting his multi-cat value a bit.

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each had a goal and an assist while Cale Makar had two helpers (all those points listed came on the PP), five shots, and three blocks in the loss. Makar is now three points behind Quinn Hughes with five fewer games played.

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Adrian Kempe had a pair of goals while Kevin Fiala, Trevor Lewis, and Pierre-Luc Dubois all scored for Los Angeles. Jordan Spence assisted on the Fiala goal, giving him 12 helpers on the year and that leads all Kings blue liners. For a guy that is skating 15 minutes a night, that is pretty good production. Imagine whenever he can skate 20 minutes a night with Brandt Clarke also on the blue line.

Kaapo Kahkonen saved 38 of 43 shots in the loss while David Rittich stopped 24 of 25 in the win.

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Two goals from Brett Leason (with four blocked shots) and singles from Jamie Drysdale, Troy Terry, and Frank Vatrano lifted Anaheim to a 5-2 win over Vegas. Drysdale had three shots, three blocks, and two hits in a great across-the-board fantasy outing. Terry has four goals and five assists in his last 10 games, and six points in his last five. His underlying numbers are very solid, and it looks like he and Trevor Zegras are ready for lift off.

Logan Thompson returned to action for Vegas and promptly allowed all five goals on 26 shots. Not ideal.