It is never easy to foresee the unforeseen. Injuries happen every day in the NHL and here at Fantasy Alarm, our goal will be to help you try to stay on top of those maladies. Counting all the latest bumps, bites, and bruises, there were 94 players held out of lineups. Six of those are long term injuries from a previous year. Those players are likely not to return or have retired. That leaves 88 who have been hurt this season. Here are some of the more notable ouches out there and their possible prognosis on this Friday.

Centers

Jordan Staal is on Injured Reserve with a concussion. Recovery time is unknown as every concussion has its own ups and downs. The first key will be to see when he returns to light activity on the ice. Until then, he is out and should not be in any of your lineups until further notice. There will likely be a quick update next week.

Jonathan Toews was held out once again Thursday due to a pesky back injury. The other ailments he had were allegedly more minor in nature or nonexistent. He has missed four games in all. It does look like he may play on Saturday but keep an eye out to see if he appears during the morning skate or warm-ups. That will give you an idea if playing him is worth it or if you should continue to wait.

Sergei Kalinin was added to our list due to, yes, an illness. The cold and flu season is well underway and again, we tell players to wash their hands. It is more than just hand-washing but keeping your hands clean and avoiding people who are sick whenever possible is key. This does not appear to be something on the level of the Carey Price “super-flu” so do not fret too much.

Wingers

Nic Petan is ailing from a lower-body injury. This was enough to place him on Injured Reserve, retroactive to November 27. Petan has spent this week strengthening his leg so he is making progress and getting closer to a return. If the left winger does not return this weekend, it will probably be sometime next week.

T.J. Oshie is still week-to-week with what is being termed a shoulder injury. There is no timetable currently. Oshie has not been cleared for contact yet but is skating at least. The Capitals are definitely feeling his loss on the ice but Washington has been adamant about not rushing him back so it is a situation they are actively monitoring and you should too.

Ryan Callahan joins the injury list with a lower-body injury that landed him on IR as of Monday. People forget that just a little over a month ago, he came back from a hip injury and his mobility seemed a little limited the past couple weeks. This new mystery ailment seems poised to keep him out awhile. The best bet is to see when he starts skating again then go from there.

Defensemen

John-Michael Liles has joined Zdeno Chara on the injury list with a concussion, so that has left the Bruins without their two best defensemen all week. Liles will be out for more than just a few days but Chara has been seen skating and appears close to a return. As a matter of fact, that may come on Saturday so keep an eye out over the next 24 hours for further social media updates.

Alex Edler is out 4-to-6 weeks with a fractured index finger. Yes, you heard that right! Blocked shots are dangerous and gloves only have so much padding. Do not worry. This is a clean break with little complication, if any. He could be back sooner if the defenseman can withstand the pain. Sometimes wraps are used to try and cushion it a little. Vancouver is without two of their top defensemen so they will be a team to pick on fantasy hockey wise.

Goalies

Robin Lehner will be fine after suffering a hip injury on Tuesday against Ottawa. This is not believed to be anything serious and he may even play over the weekend. If the goalie can back up Anders Nilsson on Thursday, then one knows the rest. Just keep in mind that, while Lehner posts solid numbers when he plays, he just never seems to stay healthy.

Craig Anderson is not injured but will be out periodically to help his wife with her treatment for cancer. Basically, on reports, you will see “left the team for personal reasons” a lot. The best bet is to look around on Twitter just to get the latest and check every so often to see if he is back or not. Again, our prayers are with Craig’s wife.

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Chris Wassel can be heard on Fantasy Hockey X every Tuesday night at 9pm ET and on various places throughout the internet. He can be followed on Fantasy Alarm and Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. A special thanks this week to nhl.com, Tom Gulitti, Illegal Curve, and Selene Parekh of The Fantasy Doctors for all of their information.