NHL Injury Report: February 12th
Published: Feb 12, 2022
Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. The injury report is going to keep you up to date on all the important injuries going on around the league, and how that might affect your fantasy hockey team. Make sure to check back regularly for any updates. Let’s take a look at some players that are either ruled out or that we need to monitor.
Patrice Bergeron - Boston Bruins - Concussion
Patrice Bergeron has missed the last two games due to a concussion and there is no timetable for his return. The centerman got hurt against Pittsburgh and the injury was only labelled as upper-body. We now know that it’s a concussion, and these kinds of injuries can leave a player out of action for an extended period of time. Bergeron was seen doing some light exercise on Friday, but he hasn’t practiced and it’s unlikely we see him back this upcoming week. For now, fantasy owners will want to stash him on their bench and wait for another update.
John Klingberg - Dallas Stars - Upper-body
John Klingberg is dealing with an upper-body injury and his status for Sunday’s game against Colorado is questionable. He played on Friday and logged 24-minutes of ice time, so it’s unclear when he might have suffered the injury. It doesn’t sound like anything serious, but the team may elect to give their defenceman some extra rest to make sure he can return at 100%. Klingberg isn’t having a great season, but it’s possible he finds a new home before the trade deadline, so a long-term injury right now would not be ideal.
Jesper Bratt - New Jersey Devils - Upper-body
Devils’ forward Jesper Bratt sustained an upper-body injury Thursday against the St. Louis Blues and is questionable for Sunday’s game. He played less than a minute in the third period of that game, and we haven’t gotten any new information on his condition. Even if he’s day-to-day, Bratt may be held out of the lineup to give him some extra rest. He’s been great for New Jersey this season, scoring 14 goals in 45 games.
Sean Couturier - Philadelphia Flyers - Back
Flyers forward Sean Couturier hasn’t played since December 18th, and on Friday, the team announced that he would require back surgery and miss the remainder of the season. The procedure is expected to keep Couturier out of the lineup for about three months, so he’s expected to be ready for the start of next season. Fantasy owners who were hoping for him to return can go ahead and drop him in redraft leagues. The Quebec native finishes the season with 17 points in 29 games.
Mark Stone - Vegas Golden Knights - Back
Mark Stone is out of the lineup due to a back injury and there is no timetable for his return. The injury seems to be the same one that has sidelined him three separate times this season. It doesn’t sound like he will need surgery, but Vegas could elect to place him on long-term injury reserve, which would free up enough money for the team to activate Jack Eichel. It sounds like the veteran forward could miss the remainder of the regular season, and that might be the best course of action. He needs this back injury to heal 100% because it’s not ideal to have him missing time for the same issue. Fantasy owners may not like to hear this, so start looking for his replacement on the waiver wire.
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.