2019 Fantasy Hockey Injury Report: February 5
Published: Feb 05, 2019
Welcome to the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. Once a week, we’ll take a look at some injuries around the league that may affect your fantasy hockey team. Injuries will always happen and you can’t predict when, but it’s important to be ready for the aftermath and to have a plan ready. Let’s take a look and some players who are on the shelf for the upcoming week and beyond.
Alexander Edler - Vancouver Canucks - Defence
Injury: head, day-to-day.
Canucks’ defenceman Alexander Edler had to be stretchered off the ice after falling face first onto the ice in yesterday's game and his status for the next couple of games is unknown. The team has not given an update on his status, but he was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons. There’s a good chance that Edler suffered a concussion, and that will most likely keep him out of the lineup for multiple weeks. We should get more information as the week moves forward, but fantasy owners may want to start looking for a replacement on the waiver wire.
Jeff Carter - Los Angeles Kings - Center
Injury: lower-body, day-to-day.
Kings’ forward Jeff Carter left last night’s game due to a lower-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Devils is still up in the air. Just like the rest of the team, the 34-year-old isn’t having a great season. His 25 points in 51 games puts him on pace to finish with less than 40-points, something Carter hasn’t done since 2012-13 (He had 22 points last season, but only played 27 games due to injury). It’s no secret that Carter isn’t getting any younger and his offensive abilities aren’t what they used to be. For fantasy owners, it may be time to let go of Carter and look for someone else to replace him, even if his lower-body injury isn’t serious.
Brayden Point - Tampa Bay Lightning - Center
Injury: lower-body, day-to-day.
Centerman Brayden Point is dealing with a lower-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Golden Knights is still undetermined. He was held out of Saturday’s game for precautionary reasons, but Derek Lalande did say that “had Saturday been a playoff game, Point would have been available”. That’s good news for fantasy owners. We should get an update on the kid’s status for tonight’s game at practice, but as of right now, it’s safe to expect that Point will play.
Paul Byron - Montreal Canadiens - Winger
Injury: forearm, day-to-day.
Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron suffered a forearm/shoulder injury on Sunday and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Ducks is questionable. Byron was visibly upset leaving Sunday’s game after falling awkwardly on his arm, and since then, the team has not updated his status. There’s a good chance that the veteran speedster isn’t ready to go tonight, or for the remainder of the week. The 29-year-old isn’t a huge fantasy loss, but he’s fantasy relevant thanks to his speed and his ability to score short-handed goals. We should get an update on his status before tonight’s game.
Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins - Center
Injury: upper-body, day-to-day.
Penguins’ forward Evgeni Malkin has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game is still not known. The Russian superstar suffered the mysterious injury prior to the all-star break and it seems that the injury was serious enough that he was not 100% ready to go this past weekend. The team hasn’t placed the veteran forward on IR, so there’s a good chance that Malkin is getting close to a return. For fantasy owners, it’s probably best to wait this one out before looking to add a player off the waiver wire.
Erik Karlsson - San Jose Sharks - Defence
Injury: lower-body, day-to-day.
It looks like defenceman Erik Karlsson is in danger of missing multiple games due to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old was a non participant in Saturday’s game against the Coyotes and there is talk that he will miss more than one game. The team hasn’t given an update on their superstar defenceman, but we should know more about his status for tonight’s game after morning skate. For fantasy owners, this isn’t good news. After a slow start, Karlsson has found his all-star form and has been nothing short of great for his new team. Let’s hope he returns to the lineup sooner rather than later.
Sami Vatanen - New Jersey Devils - DefenceInjury: concussion, out indefinitely.
Looks like Sami Vatanen is going to be out of the lineup for awhile. The Devils’ defenceman was placed on IR last week with a concussion and the team has no timetable as to when we can expect him to return to the lineup. At this point, fantasy owners may want to drop him and look for a replacement. Concussions are hard to handle and timeframes are usually quite vague. Even if he does return in a couple of weeks, that may be too late for fantasy hockey teams looking to make a playoff push. If you can stash him on IR, great, but if you don’t have that luxury, just cut him loose.
Player News
David Montgomery rushed 12 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions’ Week 3 win over the Ravens, adding 13 yards on one reception.
Montgomery played well behind backfield mate Jahmyr Gibbs as far as snap rate and opportunity count are concerned. He put the Lions on his back when it mattered most, however, with carries of 72 yards and 31 yards in the fourth quarter, the latter of which put the Lions up by 14 points with under two minutes to play as he found paint for the second time. The bulk of Montgomery’s fantasy value remains tied to his high touchdown expectancy in one of the league’s top offenses, making him a more difficult weekly start than others drafted around him this offseason.
Jared Goff completed 20-of-28 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown in the Lions’ 38-80, Week 3 win over the Lions, adding six yards on four carries.
Goff’s 28 pass attempts were a product of the team’s successes on the ground, with David Montgomery (151 yards and two touchdowns) and Jahmyr Gibbs (67 yards and two touchdowns) taking over the game in the second half. The veteran signal caller made numerous elite throws, the highlight of which came on fourth down with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when he dropped a dime into the bread basket of alpha wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. That drive would eventually culminate in a 31-yard Montgomery touchdown to push the lead to 14 points, a lead the Lions would not relinquish as they vault into a tie atop the NFC North with the Packers and Vikings. Up next for Goff and the Lions is a matchup against the surprisingly stout Cleveland defense in Week 4.
Ronald Acuña Jr. walloped his 19th home run of the season and walked three times, leading Atlanta to an 11-5 blowout win over the Nationals.
Acuña has caught fire down the home stretch following a prolonged slump coming out of the All-Star break, homering four times in his last 11 games. The 27-year-old generational talent took Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore deep in the opening frame and wound up reaching base safely in four of his six plate appearances in the one-sided affair. He’s looked like a fantasy superstar again of late, batting an absurd .346 (18-for-52) with four homers, 13 RBI and two steals over his last 15 games.
Nasim Nuñez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Monday’s blowout loss to Atlanta.
Nuñez walloped his first career leadoff homer when he took Atlanta ace Chris Sale deep to right field. It was his fourth round-tripper since returning to the big leagues back in early September. He came a few feet shy of his second big fly on the night a couple frames later and finished the one-sided affair with a season-high three hits, reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances. He’s shown enough down the home stretch to be considered a serious contender for an everyday role next spring.
Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three stolen bases in Monday’s lopsided win over the Nationals.
Harris kicked off an impressive three-hit performance with a 109-mph line-drive to right field that brought home Ha-Seong Kim from second base in the second inning. He scorched a run-scoring single as part of Atlanta’s five-run outburst in the ensuing frame. He wasn’t done yet as he drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth before adding a sixth-inning single. The three steals matched his previous career-high mark set back on July 16, 2022 during his stellar rookie campaign. It also puts him one theft shy of reaching the 20-steal threshold for the third time in the last four seasons.
Chris Sale was charged with five runs over five innings on Monday in a win over the Nationals.
Sale received a touchdown and a two-point conversion worth of run support from Atlanta’s offense by the fifth inning and was cruising along, despite coughing up early solo homers to Nasim Nuñez and Dylan Crews, before Andrés Chaparro delivered a bases-clearing three-run single with two outs in the frame that slashed the deficit to three runs at the time. He managed to wriggle out of the jam without any further damage, finishing with six strikeouts and two walks in the shortened outing. He’ll close out the season on Sunday with a home matchup against the offensively challenged Pirates.