We are less than two weeks in to the 2016-17 NHL regular season and already there are a number of injuries taking their toll around the league. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings are among the teams that have been dealt the biggest blows early on while the Boston Bruins could be down to their third-string goalie thanks to their own injury concerns. Here are the latest updates on four key injuries from around the NHL this week.
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Crosby was cleared to play in Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers and it will be very interesting to see how he reacts to being back on the ice moving forward. Crosby missed Pittsburgh’s first six games of the season due to a concussion but he has gone through the concussion protocol without any setbacks. Now comes the real test of getting on the ice against NHL competition with opposing teams looking to hit him. Crosby has been through the concussion protocol before so the Penguins will not hesitate to pull him out of their lineup if he experiences any lingering symptoms following his return to the ice.
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Letang missed his third consecutive game on Tuesday night as he continues to deal with an unspecified upper-body injury. The 29-year-old blue liner is off to a decent start with a pair of assists in four games but he did not practice on Monday and there is currently no timetable for his return. Consider him day-to-day for now and don’t expect to see him back in Pittsburgh’s lineup until he returns to practice. The Penguins aren’t particularly deep on the blue line so they will really miss Letang’s presence in all situations. If you have him in NHL fantasy, keep an eye on the wires to see if he’s healthy enough to return by the end of the week.
Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
Rask has been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury but could return at some point this week. The Bruins will be hoping he can get back soon as he is off to an excellent start. Compounding their problems is that backup, Anton Khudobin, suffered an injury in practice on Monday. Khuodobin could still be good to play but Boston recalled Malcolm Subban from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. Meanwhile, Rask is 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and .947 save percentage through his first three starts. He’s a Vezina Trophy-caliber type of goaltender, so missing him for any prolonged period of time would be a problem. The drop-off between him and the backups is significant.
Jeff Zatkoff, Los Angeles Kings
The Kings goaltending situation went from bad to worse when they were forced to put Zatkoff on the injured reserve with a groin injury. Zatkoff took over as the starter in Los Angeles following an injury to Jonathan Quick in their season opener but he hurt his groin in the team’s morning skate on Saturday and had to be helped off the ice. The injuries to Quick and Zatkoff have left the Kings with Peter Budaj as their top option in goal with Jack Campbell also recalled from the AHL. Los Angeles doesn’t expect to have Quick or Zatkoff back anytime soon so it will be very interesting to see if they make a trade at some point to address their goaltending situation moving forward.
Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes will be without forward Jeff Skinner for the short term future as he is out with a middle-body injury. Of course, that’s the designation used by coaches who want to be a little bit discreet about what’s happening with their roster. Skinner didn’t take part in the team’s morning skate on Tuesday and he wasn’t in the lineup against Detroit.
It’s a big loss for Carolina as Skinner had five points in four games, and had been their best offensive weapon. The Hurricanes may or may not have the medical results from his testing just yet, so they haven’t announced a firm timetable for his return. We’ll see if let the media know in the coming days.
