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 84 players held out of lineups. Five of those are long term injuries from a previous year. Those players are likely not to return or have retired. That leaves 79 who have been hurt this season. Here are some of the more notable ouches out there and their possible prognosis on this Friday. Periodic updates and returns are provided as well. The latest walking wounded is listed below.

Centers

Artem Anisimov is out with what looks to be a knee injury. Do not be surprised to see him out for a little bit. No one in Chicago believes this to be a long-term malady. Anisimov will not play on Friday and his status for the weekend is up in the air. The best advice here is just to wait a bit. Add in the fact that Nick Schmaltz is ill and the Blackhawks have some issues for fantasy owners that few expected.

Jacob Josefson is out with an upper body issue that may just be a shoulder. Josefson has been frequently injured and many in the fantasy hockey world do wonder if he will be anything more than a deep waiver wire fantasy pick. His work as a shootout specialist and the half wall on the power play is almost inconsequential.

Wingers

Zach Parise and Jason Pominville have met up with the mumps. That is right. It’s back! The mumps started in Vancouver and have spread to a few places, including Minnesota. Even Scott Stevens, the Wild assistant coach, contracted it somehow. Parise and Pominville have missed a few games already and may miss a little more time. Keep an eye on them for the weekend but losing 2/3 of a line has had a little impact with the Wild.

T.J. Oshie has an upper body err shoulder ailment that will keep him out until the weekend at least. It was thought he might play on Thursday against New Jersey but that was not the case. He is getting closer at least which is good news. The winger does seem to be a little more banged up than usual this season. Washington and fantasy hockey owners alike are going to need them for their playoff runs respectively.

Michael Grabner and Jesper Fast are now both out with injuries for the New York Rangers. The Rangers had been so healthy (see the Blackhawks who now have four players out) and suddenly some key pieces are missing from the lineup. Grabner is the more prevalent news for fantasy owners as he was on pace for a 30-goal season on around 150 shots! He is day to day with a hip ailment. Fast is believed to be out 2-3 weeks with a separated shoulder.

Defensemen

Dan Girardi has been mercifully placed on the injured reserve with an ankle injury. The mostly durable defenseman was the focal point of an unrelenting group of fans and experts alike. Fantasy wise, he was faring okay but had started to tail off again in the last few weeks. He may have been playing injured but this time, he could not shrug this one off. Girardi is expected to miss two weeks.

Kris Letang is still out with an upper body injury but sadly the scene stealer is what happened to Ryan Ellis on Thursday night. He had to be helped off the ice by the trainer and several teammates. The concern was that Ellis could not put any pressure on his leg at all. Late word came from Adam Vingan that he was walking on his own without crutches. Stay tuned to see if he does miss any time and for a prognosis. It was an injury that looked bad.

Goalies

John Gibson was placed on the injured reserve with a lower body muscle strain before Anaheim’s bye week. He did practice on Thursday as the Ducks came off their bye week. The thought is that he will be eased back into game shape. Friday is not looking likely but the goalie could be back in the lineup sometime next week. There will need to be a lot of patience here as these muscle strains can have setbacks.

Roberto Luongo is injured again after stopping 13 shots against Philadelphia. The lower body injury will keep him out at least a week or two. Basically, James Reimer will be running the show in net for Florida. It will be a vital stretch but if he can stop 35 of 36 shots like he did against Philadelphia, then Reimer may just be a short-term solution for those with goaltending woes.

 

Chris Wassel can be heard on Fantasy Hockey X every week 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, George Richards, Brian Metzer, Adam Vingan, Dan Rosen, and Selene Parekh of The Fantasy Doctors for all their information.