Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. The season is now in full swing, and so are the injuries. You can’t avoid them, but we can get a head start and plan around them. The injury report will be out every week to help you plan the rest of your fantasy hockey week. Let’s take a look at which key players are dealing with injuries.
Cale Makar - Colorado Avalanche - Defence
Injury: upper-body, day-to-day.
The Colorado Avalanche will be without their star defenceman for a second game due to an upper-body injury. Makar is dealing with something, but no one knows just how serious the injury is, or how long he will be out of the lineup. The rookie has been excellent this season-- scoring 12-goals and adding 35-assists-- and hopefully, he will be able to return in the near future.
Ben Bishop - Dallas Stars - Goalie
Injury: lower-body, day-to-day.
The Dallas Stars have announced that Ben Bishop is dealing with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. The veteran goalie is having another strong season-- posting a 2.49 GAA and a .921 SV%-- but he’s only started three of the last seven games, and he was terrible in two of those games. Bishop has had his injury problems, but he’s been relatively healthy this season. The Stars will probably want to play it safe with their starting goalie, but they are fighting for a playoff spot and will need him to return to the lineup soon. Maybe the extra rest will help him return to form.
Sergei Bobrovsky - Florida Panthers - Goalie
Injury: lower-body, day-to-day.
As the Florida Panthers continue to fight for a playoff spot, they are hoping their starting goalie will be able to return Thursday to take on the Boston Bruins. Sergei Bobrovsky was a late scratch on Sunday after tweaking something in pregame warmups. The team is saying that it’s a lower-body issue, but they don’t know how long he will be out of the lineup. It’s been a difficult season for the veteran netminder, but he is still their starting goalie, and gives the team the best chance at making the playoffs. Hopefully he returns to the lineup sooner rather than later.
Tomas Tatar - Montreal Canadiens - Winger
Injury: upper-body, day-to-day.
The Montreal Canadiens still have a chance to make the playoffs, but if Tomas Tatar is ruled out for an extended period of time, they might as well just kiss the playoffs goodbye. Tatar has been excellent since coming to Montreal in the Max Pacioretty trade, and this season, he leads the team in goals (22), assists (39) and points (61). The team hasn’t given out much information, but it looks like the veteran forward could be dealing with a shoulder injury. The team has called up Lukas Vejdemo on an emergency basis, so there’s a chance that Tatar isn;t ready to go for tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. We should get an update on his status tomorrow.
Mark Stone - Vegas Golden Knights - Winger
Injury: lower-body, week-to-week.
The Vegas Golden Knights have been without Mark Stone for the last three games, and there’s no guarantee that he returns in the near future. We do know that he is considered week to week and that he doesn’t need surgery for his injury, but no timeline was given for when he may be able to return to the lineup. The hope is that he should return before the end of the season, but with fantasy hockey playoffs starting next week, fantasy owners don’t have time to take a wait-and-see approach. Hopefully Stone can return to practice by the beginning of next week.
Jacob Markstrom - Vancouver Canucks - Goalie
Injury: lower-body, week-to-week.
It has not been a good week for goalies. Jacob Marstrom underwent a minor lower-body procedure, and will be reevaluated in two weeks. The Canucks are in a very tight race to make the playoffs, and they will have to do it without their starting goalie for at least another week. Since the injury, the team is 1-3 and are giving up goals in bunches. There’s a slight chance that Markstrom is able to return by the middle of next week, but fantasy owners shouldn’t hold their breath on it. The 30-year-old has posted a 2.75 GAA and a .918 SV% in 43-games this season.