Happy Halloween hockey fans and welcome to the October 28, 2026 edition of Injury Ward! 

With All Hallows' Eve just around the corner, fantasy managers must be mindful of curses, hexes, and all manner of macabre maladies affecting your fantasy stars. Goalies, in particular, are quite susceptible to voodoo. Savvy fantasy GM's should check their lineups daily and, of course, keep up to date with all the latest injury news right here at Dobber Hockey. Let's dive in:

Carter Hart (G) – VGK – day-to-day – The Vegas Golden Knights netminder is undergoing further evaluation after sustaining an injury at practice, per Jesse Granger of the Athletic, and he ended up as a late scratch from Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Senators as a result. Hart has been fed the monster's mouthful of starts in Vegas' crease thus far (eight starts vs six starts for Adin Hill), but Hill has been lurking close behind largely because of his stellar 5-1 record and comparable metrics (2.63 GAA, .893 SV% vs Hart's 2.76 GAA and .889 SV%). If Hart is forced to miss any time, however, Hill becomes a must-add fantasy asset. Vegas next faces the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, so keep your third eye open for another update before then. 

Kirill Marchenko (RW) – CBJ – day-to-day – Marchenko has fit in well with his new club, reaching 14 points through 14 games on the season, but the Russian winger was unable to finish Monday's fright-fest and is considered day-to-day ahead of Wednesday's battle with the Kraken. No updates were provided by the Maple Leafs' brass post game, so the true nature of his ailment remains a mystery, but with Marchenko joining Tavares in the crypt, 2026 No.1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna should see some favorable deployment, as well as, an uptick in ice time. 

Zach Hyman (LW) – EDM – out indefinitely – Hyman, 34, left Monday's loss to the Red Wings after suffering an upper-body curse and did not return. It has been an uninspiring start to the year for the Oilers veteran, who has been in costume for only six games due to injuries and has just one point to his name despite his club scoring an otherworldly 26 goals during his six appearances. Oilers reporter Jason Gregor relayed that Hyman may end up in concussion protocol as a result of the incident, but a more official update is still pending. Vasily Podkolzin, who is already up to 13 points in just 12 games thanks to skating alongside sorcerers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at even-strength, should see an uptick in power-play time while Hyman recovers.

Thomas Chabot (D) – OTT – day-to-day – The Ottawa Senators captain has been a sinister force from the blue line this season, chipping in four points while adding 19 shots and 24 blocks through nine games played. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reported that Chabot was a full participant at practice this Monday and is now nearing a return. With the way his injury is trending, fantasy managers may expect to see Chabot return from the grave as soon as Thursday's thriller in Los Angeles. 

Taylor Hall (LW) – CAR – day-to-day – Taylor Hall was expected to make his return to action on Tuesday, but fell victim to an additional, and unrelated, upper-body injury and, per Cary Lavalette of the NorthState Journal, will now miss more time. Mark Jankowski, who returned from the witch-doctor in time for Tuesday's victory over the Boston Bruins, was bumped up to the Canes' second power play unit in Hall's absence and, in deeper leagues, could be worth digging up out of your league's cemetery for Carolina's upcoming homestand, which includes hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.

Ben Kindel (C) – PIT – injured reserve – Kindel (vasovagal episode) returned to practice with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, per Wes Craven of the NHL's official website (or was it Wes Crosby?), and is feeling normal again. If he continues to progress, he may be back for Thursday's monstrous matchup with the Mammoth. 

Jared Spurgeon (D) – MIN – day-to-day – Spurgeon was unable to finish Tuesday's tilt with Utah after casting two counter spells on heavy blasts from Dylan Guenther. Sprugeon's back-to-back blocks left him hobbled and in noticeable discomfort and he was forced to head down the dark tunnel as soon as his shift ended. Jonas Brodin will benefit from playing alongside the wizard Quinn Hughes at even-strength if Spurgeon misses any more time.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading! My name is Garrett Finlay and you can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284 and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social where I am often talking goalies and fantasy hockey. I'll be back here providing injury news and updates every Wednesday, so until then – Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!