NHL Injury Report: January 29th

Published: Jan 29, 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.
Tuukka Rask - Boston Bruins - Lower-body
Tuukka Rask is dealing with a lower-body injury and has not been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Dallas. He was unable to serve as the backup goalie on Friday, but head coach Bruce Cassidy doesn’t expect the injury to keep the veteran goalie out long term. Rask hasn’t been great since joining the team, so maybe a couple of days off will do him some good.
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche - Nose
Nathan MacKinnon suffered a broken nose and a concussion after taking a hit to the head from Taylor Hall in Wednesday’s game. The broken nose is one thing, but the concussion could keep the centerman out of the lineup for a few weeks. He’s been ruled out for the next three games, but no one should expect him to return to the lineup anytime soon. You can’t replace a player like MacKinnon, so fantasy owners will just need to hope that he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
Adam Fox - New York Rangers - Upper-body
New York Rangers defenceman Adam Fox suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s game against Columbus and there is no timetable for his return. The team has placed him on IR, and head coach Gerard Gallant believes that he will be able to return after the All-Star break. We don’t know the exact severity of the injury, but it’s nice to have some sort of timetable. Whether he returns or not is still up in the air, so all we can do now is wait and hope he makes progress in the next couple of weeks.
Jonathan Toews - Chicago Blackhawks - Concussion
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has been placed in concussion protocol and is out indefinitely. He was unable to suit up for Friday’s game, and now with him entering protocol, we should expect him to miss a couple of weeks. He’s no longer an offensive juggernaut, but in deeper formats, he was still serviceable thanks to seeing top six minutes and top power play duties. Fantasy owners should be able to find someone to replace him on the waiver wire.
Drake Batherson - Ottawa Senators - Lower-body
Forward Drake Batherson is expected to miss a few months after suffering a high-ankle sprain. He sustained the injury after goaltender Aron Dell decided to unsuspectingly hit him as he was trying to go around the net. Dell was given a three-game suspension, but Batherson gets the short end of the stick here, missing an extended period of time, and possibly, the remainder of the fantasy hockey regular season. This is a tough position for fantasy owners who want to hold onto him in hopes that he can make a return down the road, but if you can't stash him on and are fighting for a playoff spot, it might be best to just drop him and find a decent replacement on the waiver wire. It’s unfortunate to see a player with so much skill miss this much time due to stupidity.
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.