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. At the end of the article is the Quarantine section, where any players out due to illness will be listed. As always, I’d like to thank every single one of you for reading. So, on to the bad (and some good) news.

Injuries / Leaves

Zach Hyman / Edmonton Oilers – Hyman (undisclosed) did not play against Vegas on Saturday. Hyman hit a bit of a mini slump in mid-March with only two points in six games (smack in the middle of my head-to-head playoffs, so you can guess how that went). Since then, he has five in his last five games, which is more like the production we’re accustomed to seeing from Zach over the last four seasons. He had quite a down year in 2024-25 comparatively, with only 44 points in 73 games after being near or over a point per game two seasons in a row before that. He only managed 12 power-play points in 2024-25, so that has a lot to do with it, having had 20 and 26 in the two point per game seasons prior.

Kevin Lankinen / Vancouver Canucks – Lankinen tweaked something Saturday morning, making him unavailable to suit up versus the Mammoth on Saturday, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reported. After having a very solid 2024-25 when he was thrust into the starting role after Thatcher Demko went down, Lankinen has struggled this season. I don’t blame most of it on him, given how poorly the Canucks have played over the last six months. He’s fallen from a quality start percentage of 56.9 in 2024-25 to just 36.4 percent this year and holds only a 0.874 SV%.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson / Toronto Maple Leafs – Ekman-Larsson (lower body) was not expected to play Saturday versus Los Angeles according to Luke Fox of Sportsnet, and ultimately that ended up being correct. Oliver has been seeing just under half the power play time on the blueline for the Leafs this season. He’s only got eight power play points to show for it, but the Leafs as a whole have been squeezed dry this season. With Matthews on the shelf, things have only gotten more dire and the William Nylander / Matthew Knies combo is really the only part of this roster to be somewhat excited about right now.

Cale Makar / Colorado Avalanche – Makar (upper body) will not be an option for the Avs’ next two contests, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports Friday. Makar's rate stats are down across the board this season, even with the Avalanche's historic start. When I say his stats are down, it’s still not a terrible season for a defenseman since he’s still two points clear of a point per game player, and he is firing almost 2.5 SOG/GP. Makar has been one of the top fantasy defensemen for the past six seasons or so, but he’s been passed this season by the likes of Evan Bouchard and Zach Werenski for top dog. Whether that rings true for the rest of the season, or continues into next season is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain, he has many seasons of elite production left in him regardless.

Cutter Gauthier / Anaheim Ducks – Gauthier left the Ducks game on Monday against the Maple Leafs and did not return due to an upper-body injury. He missed his third straight game Saturday night in the Ducks' 5-3 loss to the Flames. Gauthier has been enjoying an amazing sophomore season in Anaheim. With 65 points in 73 games played, he’s shooting at an insane clip, averaging 3.7 SOG/GP. I love players that shoot a lot. Shots translate to points more than anything. Gauthier has been seeing an average of 17:17 TOI per game and over 50 percent of power-play time this season as well, a big jump from his rookie season. He’s come a long way from only two points in six games at the Brick Invitational tournament here in Edmonton. That was a joke, as he was just a child then.

Brandon Hagel / Tampa Bay Lightning – Hagel is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and missed his second game in a row for Tampa Bay last night in a 3-1 win, where Darren Raddysh broke the single season record for goals by a Lightning defenseman with 21. Since 2023-24, Hagel has been outstanding for the Lightning organization. He’s up to nearly three shots per game this season, and he’s already got 73 points in his 69 games played. He kills penalties, and even though he only has one shorthanded point to show for it so far in 2025-26, he managed to put up seven last season.

Jack McBain / Utah Mammoth – McBain (lower body) is week-to-week and didn't play Saturday against the Canucks. McBain isn’t the sexiest waiver pick up, especially if you’re in need of points, but he hits a good amount and he can add in a couple shots a game too. He’s not a prolific scorer, but he does have a chance at multi point games on occasion as well so if you just needed the bangers, it’s an added bonus to have that ability alongside a player you pick up solely for that reason.

Quarantine

N/A

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