Welcome back to the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. Hockey is back, which means injuries are back too. 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. 

Patrice Bergeron - Boston Bruins - Center

Injury: Lower-body, day-to-day.

After not suiting up for Boston’s game against the Capitals on Saturday, Patrice Bergeron is a game time decision for Tuesday's game against New Jersey. The Bruins’ centerman isn’t expected to be out for long, but should he not be ready to go on Tuesday, weekly fantasy owners may want to start looking for help on the waiver wire. 

Jonathan Drouin - Montreal Canadiens - Winger

Injury: wrist, six-to-eight weeks.

After starting the season on fire, Jonathan Drouin is expected to miss a minimum of six-to-eight weeks due to a wrist injury. The Quebec native had surgery on Monday, and is expected to make a full recovery and rejoin the team at some point this season. It’s a huge loss for the Habs-- who are fifth in the league in scoring, but this also gives other players an opportunity to step up (looking at you, Nick Suzuki). Wrist injury are tricky, mainly because it affects how you shoot the puck. The hope is that Drouin will regain all his power in his wrist and it won’t linger on towards the end of the season. 

Erik Haula - Carolina Hurricanes - Center

Injury: knee, out indefinitely.

After missing five games earlier in the season due to injury, Erik Haula is “going to be out awhile” due to a knee injury. The team hasn’t said how serious the injury is, but judging by Brind’Amour’s comments, we shouldn’t expect the center to be back in the lineup any time soon. This is a pretty significant blow for fantasy owners in deeper leagues, but without a real timeframe for when we can expect to see Haula return, it’s best for now to stash him on waiver wire and wait for an update.

Nick Bjugstad - Pittsburgh Penguins - Center

Injury: ?, day-to-day.

If you were hoping to add Nick Bjugstad off the waiver wire in hopes of him picking up some points with Crosby out of the lineup, you can scrap those plans. The veteran forward is day-to-day with a mystery injury, and no one knows just how long that mystery injury will keep him sidelined. He wasn’t able to pay in Saturday’s game against Toronto, and he’s questionable to play on Tuesday against the Islanders. Bjugstad has only one goal this season, so if he isn’t ready to go this week, there’s no reason to hold onto him. In shallow leagues, he’s not even worth considering. 

Kaapo Kakko - New York Rangers -Winger

Injury: flu, day-to-day.

Rookie winger Kaapo Kakko is still day-to-day as he deals with the flu. He’s already missed two games, and there is still a chance that he isn’t ready to go on Wednesday when the Rangers host the Washington Capitals. He did practice on Monday, but even Kakko said that he wasn;t sure about being ready to go on Wednesday. It’s a question of whether or not the rookie will have enough energy to play, but we should know more as we move closer to game day. If I was a betting man, I’d say there’s a good chance that he plays, but fantasy owners should have a backup plan should he not be able.