Good morning, good afternoon, good evening everyone. Welcome to the first Sunday iteration of Injury Ward which will continue on throughout the season as well as the usual Wednesday article! My name is Logan Clarkson and 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.

Josh Norris / Buffalo Sabres – Norris (upper body) will be out for a “significant amount of time,” coach Lindy Ruff told Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News on Saturday. He was placed on injured reserve the same day. Devastating news for Josh so early on in the season, for a guy who has only touched 60 games once coming in at 66(!) over his six seasons in the NHL. Add on only playing eight games in 2022-23 and it’s really not looking good going forward, but hopefully I'm wrong and Josh comes back in tip top shape (I'm an optimist but I’ve also never been called one).

Zach Benson / Buffalo Sabres – Benson (face) did not play Thursday versus the Rangers because of a cut on his face that required hospitalization, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports. Zach also went on to miss last night’s tilt with the Bruins that ended in a 3-1 loss felling Buffalo to pointless start through two games. Benson has been underwhelming in his short career since being taken 13th overall in 2023, but who hasn't in that organisation outside of the top few?

The outlook is bleak for now in Buffalo, losing Josh Norris this weekend as well, while already slogging away without new blueline addition Michael Kesselring, left wing Jordan Greenway, and their starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Jaccob Slavin / Carolina Hurricanes – Slavin is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury sustained in Saturday’s game versus the Flyers, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports. K'Andre Miller could be the lucky recipient of some big minutes with the absence of the stalwart Slavin should it last any significant amount of time, although he does play the right side he has spent time on the left in New York.

Noah Hanifin / Vegas Golden Knights – Hanifin (undisclosed) didn't play Saturday versus the Kraken, per SinBin.Vegas. Hanifin had lost his power-play role (which he didn't have for all that long last season) to Shea Theodore, who has since lost it to a fifth forward.

Dorofeyev, the man in that fifth spot is now lighting penalty kills on fire with four power-play goals and five goals in total through three games. Mitch Marner may have stirred the drink a little bit more than was initially thought around the league in his Toronto tenure.

Pyotr Kochetkov / Carolina Hurricanes – Per Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer, Kochetkov (lower body) will miss at least one week of action, according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour on Saturday. Frederik Andersen should get the majority of starts since their current back up is now *checks notes* Brandon Bussi.

Vincent Trocheck / New York Rangers – Trocheck (upper body) is week-to-week, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic on Saturday. Trocheck left the 4-0 shutout of Buffalo on Thursday after only seven minutes of ice time. Mika Zibanejad had been shuffled over to the right wing on J.T. Miller's line since his arrival. On Saturday, however, DJ Mika (Zibanejad is a DJ in his spare time in New York, and he actually has some good songs under his name on music apps) lined up back at center with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere on either side.

I personally just crossed Zibanejad over the rainbow bridge from my keeper list in my main league and his shorthanded point on Saturday made me shed a solitary tear until I checked on Kirill Marchenko's stat line (three goals), who took his place. I'm betting the house on a big season from MarTRAINko, the guy looks like he's always skating downhill!

Mackenzie Blackwood / Colorado Avalanche – Blackwood (lower body) practiced Friday, but his status for the Avalanche’s two-game road trip next week is yet to be determined, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports. Blackwood seems to be on the edge of a return, so fingers crossed that he can get into some games this week. Scott Wedgewood has been a decent snag off the waiver wires for owners over the first week of games cultivating two wins and an OT loss to go with his .925 save percentage on 80 shots.

Kris Letang / Pittsburgh Penguins – Letang (undisclosed) is being evaluated for an injury after playing just one shift in the third period of Saturday’s game versus the Rangers, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Letang has had some significant concerns with his body over the last handful of years with the latest being surgery to repair a small hole in his heart last April. It's kind of amazing to me that he is still out there at 38 years old for 25 minutes a night and even playing at all strengths. What an athlete!

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. Have a great week people!