Good morning, good afternoon, good evening everyone. Welcome to the Injury Ward. My name is Logan Clarkson and every Wednesday I will be chauffeuring you through injury news and updates from around the NHL. I'll do my best to offer useful analysis and opinion as it relates to fantasy throughout. As always, I’d like to thank every single one of you for reading. Now, on to the bad (and some good) news.

Nikita Kucherov / TBL – Kucherov (undisclosed) did not play in the third period of Tuesday’s game versus the Hurricanes. Cam Atkinson has since been recalled from Syracuse this morning to assumedly cover his empty spot in the lineup. The Lightning had no power plays after his exit so there's no concrete data on who Cooper slides into that squad but chances are we will hear Brandon Hagel or Anthony Cirelli's music from his past combinations, and a small chance of running two defenseman including Darren Raddysh who has filled in and actually been first choice this season at times. 

Jack Hughes / NJD – Hughes (shoulder) had surgery on his injury, and it was announced immediately after I posted my article last week, no respect for the little guy around here. All jokes aside, being a Devil's fan has a bit of pain attached to it since Jack came in the league. Hughes is one of those huge impact players who either gets unlucky every year, or just isn't built to be smashed into by 200+ pounders night in and night out. Not many people are. Having played more than 62 games once in his career (72 GP in 22'-23') it's a legitimate concern for the team moving forward at this point. He has hovered between 1.1 – 1.4 points per game in his last four seasons since his coming out party.

Quinn Hughes / VAN – Hughes (upper body) sustained an oblique strain a few weeks ago when he took a crosscheck to the ribs. Head coach Rick Tocchet was being fairly cryptic about the timeline, and it’s probably because he really does not know how it will progress. He said Hughes would have practiced had they had one on Monday of this week, but neglected to share what color jersey he thinks he would have been wearing (injured players wear non-contact colors). The powerplay will continue with the likes of Filip Hronek manning the point. The Canucks have had a massive fall from grace this year after riding the craziest season long PDO heater we have ever witnessed for a full season in 2023-24', and injuries are partially to thank.

Dougie Hamilton / NJD – Hamilton (lower body) has been out of the lineup since being injured against Dallas on March fourth. General manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed on Friday that Dougie Hamilton will be sidelined for an “extended time”. More good news for Luke Hughes owners. Hamilton has been fairly steady for the Devils' blueline this year although his power play production had dropped off from the first few months of the season where he was one of the highest ranked fantasy defenseman for that short time throwing it back to 2022-23' when he posted 0.9 points per game to go with 28 power play points.

Aaron Ekblad / FLA – Ekblad (PEDs) has been suspended 20 games following a positive performance enhancing drug test. There's a bit of smoke around how, when, and why this test has come to light, or if it was a delayed suspension but it's most likely all speculation. Seth Jones has taken over top minutes and top power play duties in his stead. Shout out to the Islanders fan on hockey forums who predicted his suspension after their cup win. Either a very lucky post, or a saddening one. In either case it’s a pretty funny coincidence uncovered in the depths of hockey fan activity, where lots of hardcore fans and stats aficionados originated posting, including many people working for teams in stat departments today.

Tom Wilson / WSH – Wilson (lips)(!) was hit by a puck and has a large gash on his upper lip after sustaining the injury late in the third period of Tuesday’s 7-4 win over the Ducks. This is the first time I have seen a player sidelined with a designation of "lips" and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I laughed out loud when I read it. Sounds very painful though. Wilson, along with lots of other Washington players have outdone themselves this year. It's unclear if Wilson will miss any time from the injury, but if you had to bet on someone playing immediately after having their lips blown off (not actually), Tom would be at the top of my list. Here's to hoping he's still as handsome as before.

Andrei Svechnikov / CAR – Svechnikov (undisclosed) was held out of Tuesday's clash with the Lightning and the Hurricanes have been mum about what has been bothering him, although he had seen a reduction in minutes to 14, 15, and 13 minutes in his last three games played. Without any updates we will have to do with what we have and assume his career is done. Just kidding, stay tuned to Dobber or myself on X for any updates from morning skates or pressers on the lad.

Roope Hintz / DAL – Hintz (face) was the unlucky recipient of a point shot to the right eye area and went down in a writhing heap immediately. It was one of those injuries that you watch live and instantly think of Brian Berard and how his career was altered and cut short due to a major eye injury. This has no doubt sparked debate about players wearing full face shields but it will most likely not happen any time soon. Hintz has reportedly avoided a facial fracture and is expected to miss around a week of time – the latest update is that he could return on Sunday at the earliest. Hintz has been on fire for the last two months of the season or so. When you look at his frozen pool page on Dobber you can see his season splits by quarter. He posted 23 points in 16 games in the third quarter. 

Charlie McAvoy / BOS – McAvoy (shoulder) has been absent from the Bruins lineup since his injury at the Four Nations tournament, and the subsequent unrest in Boston due to the reported mishandling of the injury. I'm not going to debate who is at fault for that, but I know one thing about hockey players and there is a pretty small chance the average guy will pull himself out of a scarce opportunity to represent his country. Charlie's usefulness as a fantasy asset has been waning this season before the injury. Falling to a paltry 0.46 points per game to go with an even more anemic 0.08 power play points per game. As mentioned last week, Mason Lohrei, is the main beneficiary so far, with Hampus Lindholm also missing significant time in 2024-25.

Ivan Barbashev / VGK – Barbashev (undisclosed) missed Tuesday's clash with the Penguins. No word on his return yet.

Evander Kane / EDM – Kane (abdominal) who I like to call the breadstick assassin since I met him in a Little Caesars, has had a mighty struggle with getting back to full health this year. The local philanthropist (more on this in a moment) underwent abdominal surgery to repair both abductors, two hernias, and two abdominal tears. Yikes. He was recently ruled out for the rest of the regular season and is hopeful to be ready for the playoffs. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Evander has recently donated a good sum of money to a local soccer team here in Edmonton who had fundraising funds misappropriated. The team was due to miss their long awaited international tournament in Vegas and because of the generosity of Kane and many others they had their day in the sun. 

Thanks again for reading, and please give me a follow, you can find me here on Twitter/X @LOGoalz for any questions, concerns, or abuse you may want to shower me with. Wish me luck at my tournament this weekend, where I will be sporting a mullet, handlebar mustache, and the number 69. The number was forced on me I promise. Have a great week people!