Twice a week, we will be providing injury news and updates throughout the season on all of your favorite fantasy hockey players, as well as, the annoyingly injury prone players you painstakingly roster anyway. Now that the calendar's flipped to November, let's check in on the sick, wounded, beleaguered, and ailing.

Miro Heiskanen (D) – DAL – day-to-day – Heiskanen (upper-body) left Tuesday's match against the Washington Capitals after taking a hit from forward Justin Sourdif. The Finnish blue-liner is up to three goals and eight assists on the year as the quarterback of the Stars' talented top power play, but if he is forced to miss time expect the 25-year-old Thomas Harley to step into his role seamlessly. The Stars will continue their road trip on Thursday in Columbus before returning to Dallas on Saturday to take on the San Jose Sharks. Mike Heika of the Dallas Stars website reported that head coach Glen Gulutzan addressed Heiskanen's injury postgame and said that they're "hoping right now that it's not as serious as we first thought, so we'll know more tomorrow."

Evgeni Malkin (RW) – PIT – day-to-day – Geno missed last night's 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and per Penguins' studio host Dan Potash is dealing with a lower-body injury. This is the second straight game Malkin was absent from after sitting out Saturday's contest with an unrelated illness. The 40-year-old winger continues to defy father-time, leading the Penguins in goals (six) this season while chipping in five assists and 27 shots through 13 games. Malkin's next opportunity to return to the lineup will be Thursday's home matchup with the Atlantic Division leading Boston Bruins.

Bowen Byram (D) – CHI -injured reserve – The Chicago Blackhawks prized offseason acquisition, Bowen Byram, has only suited up for six games so far with his new club and, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times, has yet to be medically cleared to play. The 2019 4th overall pick continues to trend in the right direction and, per Pope's report, is seeing a specialist to get over the "last hurdle." After starting the season with just one point to his name, Fantasy managers have been patiently awaiting Byram's return, now that he will be sharing the ice with superstar Connor Bedard. Fantasy manager's with a good memory will remember that Byram's lone point came in Bedard's first game of the season, when the two connected passes and setup a Roman Kantserov power play goal. The Blackhawks did move Byram to IR on Tuesday, but the move is retroactive to October 15 and so he can be activated at any time. Chicago has an upcoming road back-to-back in the Sunshine State, so eager fantasy GM's should look for another update before Wednesday's clash with the Panthers.

Patrick Kane (RW) – CHI – out indefinitely – Staying with Chicago, Patrick Kane was forced to leave Monday's game with the Colorado Avalanche and Head Coach Jeff Blashill said that the veteran winger is expected to miss at least the next couple of games with an upper-body injury, per the Chicago Sun Times' Ben Pope. Showtime has just nine points through 15 games this season, but playing on the NHL's worst offense will do that to you. The Blackhawks have set out on a three-game roadtrip, so it's likely that we don't see Kane again until Chicago plays host to the Buffalo Sabres on November 12. 

John Tavares (C) – TOR – day-to-day – Tavares resumed skating Tuesday and has been upgraded to day-to-day ahead of Saturday's tilt with the Montreal Canadiens, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Clearing IR is a great step for the 36-year-old center, who has missed the Maple Leafs' past nine games with a lower-body injury, but has provided point-per-game production through the 7 games he has played. The former Maple Leafs captain will reclaim his role as the second-line center upon his return, which may come as soon as Saturday.

John Gibson (G) – DET – day-to-day – Veteran netminder John Gibson played the entire first period of a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, but did not return for the remainder of the contest. It was unclear when Gibson suffered the injury, but for now the Red Wings will call him day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The longtime Duck has floundered with a 4-5-1 record through 11 appearances with Detroit this season and his 3.46 GAA and .860 SV% have him off to one of the worst starts of his storied career. Daniil Tarasov got credited with last night's loss, despite turning aside 12 of 13 shots fired his way and will be relied upon for a heavier workload if Gibson remains sidelined. Tarasov has a 2-1-2 record with a gleaming 1.74 GAA and .927 SV% through six games played, so could be worth a waiver wire add in the meantime. 

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!