Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening! Welcome back to the Injury Ward. My name is Logan Clarkson and every Wednesday and Sunday I will be taking 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.

Tom Wilson / Washington Capitals – Wilson (lower body) won’t be in the lineup against the Stars on Wednesday but will join the team for an upcoming two-game road trip, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports. Wilson is having a career year, scoring well above his best rates from last season, up to 1.02 PPG from 0.80. That includes eight points in his last four games. He's also seeing his highest ice time totals in his career, thanks to a bump in short handed minutes.

Aliaksei Protas / Washington Capitals – Protas (lower body) was placed on injured reserve by the Capitals on Wednesday, retroactive to Jan. 1. Protas still hasn't been seeing much powerplay time which ultimately is what will keep his point totals down. He's had nine points in his last five games, however and is one of the most prolific 5 on 5 scorers in the league over the last two seasons. His pts/g is down slightly this season, but his sog/g is up, which is heartening. Marchand's hits and blocks are down a bit, but I don't think you’ll hear his owners complain much due to his point production and SOG/g being up.

Brad Marchand / Florida Panthers – Marchand was pulled from Tuesday’s game versus the Maple Leafs by the Panthers’ coaching staff due to a lingering injury concern that got worse on him during the contest, Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ official site reports. Marchand is enjoying his best season in fantasy since 2021-22, when he saw declining numbers until this year. He's up to 1.12 pts/g, a 92 point pace over the full season.

Adam Fox / New York Rangers – Fox (lower body) will be placed on long-term injured reserve, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports Tuesday. Fox had just returned from a month long absence due to injury and is right back on LTIR. In the three games since his return, he had a goal and an assist which both came in the first game on new years eve. The Rangers really struggle without Fox in the lineup so this is terrible news for their playoff hopes even though they’re only three points out of the wild card.

Igor Shesterkin / New York Rangers – Shesterkin (lower body) was designated for injured reserve Tuesday, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports. Shesterkin (17-12-4, 0.913 SV%, 2.45 GAA) has been vintage Igor this season, posting a 19.28 GSAx already, just half way through the year. To put that into perspective, Igor's GSAx over the full 2024-25 was slightly less at 19.00. Without Shesterkin and Fox as well, the Rangers may be in for a bit of a rough ride until at least one of the two returns.

Connor Bedard / Chicago Blackhawks – Bedard (shoulder) wasn’t in the lineup versus St. Louis on Wednesday but is considered day-to-day after that, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reports. Bedard has been seen at practice this morning in a regular jersey although he won't play tonight, he is possible to return on the weekend. He had previously been thought to be back and ready for games some time in January, so this news is right on schedule. Bedard has been absolutely lights out this season, scoring at a scorching 116 point pace over a full season. He's nearly doubled his PTS/g from last season, showing the league that he's still worthy of the franchise player tag. His third year in the league has been by far his best.

J.T. Miller / New York Rangers – Miller (upper body) is hoping to play Thursday versus Buffalo, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic reports. Miller has been out of the lineup since December 21st. Miller is scoring at his worst pace since 2018-19 (0.63 PTS/g) despite seeing a ton of ice time, nearly 21 minutes per game. 

Evgeni Malkin / Pittsburgh Penguins – Malkin (upper body) has been cleared for contact and could be an option against the Devils on Thursday after head coach Dan Muse told reporters, “He looked good, have another practice day tomorrow…we’ll continue to have conversations” Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports. Malkin is enjoying a production renaissance this year, up to 0.91 PTS/g which he hasn't seen the likes of since the 2019-20 season. He has recently made it known that he intends on playing next season, and staying in Pittsburgh while he's at it. I would say he has definitely earned the right to make that decision.

Matthew Tkachuk / Florida Panthers – Tkachuk (groin) is slated to travel with the Panthers during their upcoming six-game road trip, Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ official site reports Monday. Tkachuk hasn't played in a game since June 17th, game seven of the cup finals. He has been recovering from a torn adductor, and a sports hernia. His return comes just in time to gear up for February's Milan Olympics.Tkachuk in his last three seasons has scored between a 0.92 PTS/g and a 1.20, although his shots per game took a big dip last year before being sidelined with injury until playoffs.

Seth Jones / Florida Panthers – Jones (upper body) is week-to-week, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now on Monday. Jones has 24 points in 40 games so far, with over half of them (13) coming on the powerplay. Aaron Ekblad has received 60 percent of the powerplay time in his absence, and they managed a whopping zero shots on goal over 3:34 of time.

Tristan Jarry / Edmonton Oilers – Jarry (ground) skated with the Oilers goalie coach on Tuesday morning, and took some shots. However, head coach Kris Knoblauch said that the team will be very careful with him and he is still a few weeks away. Jarry (3-3-0, 0.887 SV%, 3.08 GAA) is suspected to assume the 1A role alongside either Connor Ingram or Calvin Pickard on his return. I would bet that Ingram stays over Pickard.

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!