Welcome to another week in the injury ward. The playoffs are here and have yet to disappoint, from overtime thrillers to back and forth high scoring affairs, the first round has been action packed. Unfortunately, with all of that action comes injuries and injury news so let's dive right in.

Luke Hughes/NJD (Upper Body) – Hughes was injured during game one versus the Hurricanes and while he was able to finish that game he was unavailable for Tuesday's 3-1 loss sending one of my Stanley Cup finalists into a 2-0 hole. Devils fans will have to hope this was just a pain tolerance issue and that he can return for game three on Friday and help elevate the defense and power play.

Brenden Dillon/NJD (Lower Body) – If things on defense weren't bad enough with Luke Hughes out they certainly are now. Dillon was also injured in game one logging just over eight minutes of ice time and did not suit up for game two. He feels further away than Hughes based on team scuttlebutt but they will need him to return or have someone like Simon Nemec who made his playoff debut Tuesday step up in a big way.

Matthew Tkachuk/FLA (Groin) – Tkachuk was activated from long term IR ahead of Tuesday's game one versus the Leafs. After being out since the Four Nations Tkachuk made his long-awaited return annnnnnnnnnd proceeded to tear apart the Lightning defense on route to scoring two goals on a tried and true playoff goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy. Showing no signs of rust Tkachuk will look to continue to be a difference maker going forward for the Panthers.

Gabriel Landeskog/COL (Knee) – After participating in the pre-game skate ahead of game two, Landeskog appears to be more than just an option to play in game three, with Jared Bednar saying “there’s a good chance” that Gabriel Landeskog is in the lineup. Unfortunately, we likely won't have a final update until minutes before game time.

Braden Schneider/NYR (Shoulder) – After a breakout 2024-25 season that saw him score 25 points along with career highs in hits and blocks it was announced that he had surgery for a torn labrum that took him out of the final Rangers contests. He expects to be ready for the start of the season but this could be a serious wrench in his development as shoulder recovery is notoriously tricky and it leaves little time for working on improvements to his game. Dynasty players will want to monitor his progress during the summer.

Leon Draisaitl/EDM (Undisclosed) – Draisaitl returned from an undisclosed injury for the Oilers game one, a 6-5 loss to the Kings. After missing 11 of the last 14 games the superstar looked just fine with a goal and assist. The Oilers will hope he keeps it up as they try to keep up the scoring in what is looking to be a slugfest.

Martin Fehervary /WSH(Knee) – Fehervary injured his knee right before the playoffs started and the latest update was devastating news to the Capitals thinning depth. A torn meniscus will take him out for the entirety of the playoffs. The 25-year-old D-man had a solid year accumulating 150 blocks and 139 hits along with 25 points. His replacement Alex Alexeyev also got injured taking a stick to the face that required extensive dental work but is expected to miss no time as the Caps look to take a 2-0 lead on the Canadiens.

Aliaksei Protas/WSH (Foot) – In a bit of positive Caps injury news there was an update in regards to their budding 24-year-old winger. Head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters that Protas should return during the first round although in which game is undetermined. It will be interesting to see where he is placed in the lineup when he returns if Anthony Beauvillier can keep his momentum from his two-point game one.

Miro Heiskanen/DAL (Knee) – Despite participating in skates before both game one and game two, Heiskanen remains day-to-day for the Stars. He appears to be very close to a return however and the Stars may rush matters after their defense looked less than optimal in the first two games consistently putting pressure on Jake Oettinger to be lights out to keep them in the games.

Rasmus Ristolainen/PHI (Triceps) – The frequent trade rumored Ristolainen is recovering from triceps surgery after a second consecutive season dealing with the same injury and will not be ready for the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Despite surpassing 300 points this year Ristolainen hasn't been the same player in many years. Maybe with a full recovery we can see a resurgence similar to what we saw out of Zach Werenski this year. Flyers fans surely hope so as he enters year three of a 5.1m AAV contract that will likely be impossible to move with him set to miss time.

That does it for this week's Injury Ward. Stay tuned for the next edition. You can find me on X @caochadttv and on Blue Sky @caochadttv.bsky.social.