Good Morning! Today’s fantasy hockey injury report covers 12 players. Many of these players are those that ended up being placed into COVID protocol yesterday. I am not going through the list of teams that are in postponements through the holiday break, as their lineups could be very different in seven days. Either way, in this report I touch on the teams that are expected to play in the coming days and how they will replace their injured/missing players.
Forwards: Mark Stone, TJ Oshie, Philip Danault, Tage Thompson, Boone Jenner, Jordan Greenway, Jack Roslovic, Matt Martin, Michael Sgarbossa
Defense: Gabriel Carlsson, Carson Soucy, Robin Salo
Buffalo Sabres: Tage Thompson (C/R) - One of the more pleasant surprises of the season, Thompson has reached double digit goals as C1 on the Sabres. He's been able to find more space in the center ice spot for his big frame, doing well with it. Nevertheless, yesterday he was not at practice as he dealt with minor injuries. Alex Tuch joined the lineup for the first time and is expected to play with Cozens/Murray tonight. Tuch was one of the two main pieces acquired for Jack Eichel, a player with 172 points in 321 games played at this level. If Tage cannot go, Mark Jankowski will play center alongside Victor Olofsson.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner (C/L)/Jack Roslovic (C)/Gabriel Carlsson (D) - The COVID outbreak has hit Columbus as all three players were placed into protocol on Sunday. The squad has enough players to form a game night roster against the Sabres tonight, recalling Emil Bemstrom and Jacob Christiansen from the minors to do so. To replace the two forwards, the team will choose to go with Sillinger/Bemstrom as their top six centers. Bemstrom has 25 points in 76 tilts at the NHL level, still only 22 years old. Christiansen is taking Carlsson’s place alongside Peeke and is making his NHL debut. Jacob has shown the ability to put up points at the AHL level already, totaling 18 in 21 games this season.
Los Angeles Kings: Phillip Danault (C) - Prior to puck drop against the Capitals on Sunday, Danault was ruled out and placed into COVID protocol. The two-way center was replaced by Trevor Moore at C2 between Iafallo/Arvidsson. Moore only has six points in 30 games this season. Lias Andersson returned to the lineup for his 10th game of the season with Danault out. Lias still only has one assist on the year.
Minnesota Wild: Jordan Greenway (L) - It’s unclear why the bulky winger left practice early yesterday, but is with the team for today’s game against Dallas. If he is not 100% and misses the game tonight, I expect Rem Pitlick to come into the lineup. Pitlick struggles with a two-way game, but has the offensive ability to play with Eriksson Ek/Foligno on L1. Rem has 10 points in 16 games played this season.
New York Islanders: Matt Martin (L)/Robin Salo (D) - Both depth players were placed into COVID protocol on Sunday prior to their tilt against Vegas. Ross Johnston was able to replace Martin with ease on L4 given that they are very similar in type of player. Johnston has one point in six games this season, mainly a defensive forward. Sebastian Aho returned to the bottom pair alongside Andy Greene. Aho has two assists in 12 games this season.
Seattle Kraken: Carson Soucy (D) - The defensive defender was placed into COVID protocol yesterday, following their tilt against the Oilers on Saturday night. Will Borgen is expected to be his replacement in the next time the team takes the ice, skating alongside Jeremy Lauzon. Borgen has one assist in five games this season.
Vegas Golden Knights: Mark Stone (R) - A late scratch on Sunday, Stone was slated to skate with the club until pre-game warmups when he didn’t take the ice. Evgeni Dadonov moved up to the top six, skating alongside Stephenson/Pacioretty. Dadonov has 14 points this season in 31 games played. Michael Amadio took the empty slot in the lineup, playing on L4. Amadio only has four points in 18 games. Nicolas Roy played on PP1 in Stone’s place.
Washington Capitals: TJ Oshie (R)/Michael Sgarbossa (C) - Both forwards were placed into COVID protocols yesterday prior to their game against the Kings. Daniel Sprong was bumped up to L1 alongside Ovechkin/Eller. Sprong has ten points in 27 games this season, and skated over 20 minutes. Garnet Hathaway and Joe Snively were put into the lineup two replace the two bodies that were missing. Hathaway skated on L2 and Snively on L4. Both were able to get an assist, Snively’s first NHL point of his career in his NHL debut. An undersized forward, Snively was over a point per game in the AHL this year.