Injury Analysis , November 24 By Ray Calder, HockeyObserver.com
Goalies :
The biggest injury in net last week was Roberto Luongo of Vancouver . He suffered a groin pull against Pittsburgh Saturday, and it's a good bet that we're going to be looking at weeks missed rather than days . As I write this the Canucks have not released the results of the MRI he was to have this morning. Curtis Sanford, his backup takes over as the starter but the better pickup is blue chip prospect Cory Schneider and he should be the better answer if Luongo is lost for any significant length of time ...Elsewhere Evgeni Nabokov is still slowed in the Sharks net (lower body injury believed to be a knee) but is apparently well enough to serve as Brian Boucher's backup over the weekend . Thomas Greiss was returned to the AHL and I expect Nabby to be back starting at some point this week ...Atlanta's Kari Lehtonen is still out with a back injury and now there is some talk he'll be about a little longer since he's going to need time to get back in game shape having missed so many games ...The Islanders Rick Dipietro is still weeks away so leave him on your bench ...Tampa Bay lost Mike Smith to a lower body injury late last week and he missed Sunday's game . He's not expected to be out long but Kari Ramo has been recalled from the AHL and is going to back up Olaf Kolzig in Smith's absence .
Forwards:
Boston's Marco Sturm is out with an upper body injury having missed the last 3 games . Per the Boston Globe, he is not certain to practice Tuesday so a late week return would seem to be the best case scenario ...In Buffalo per WGR , Tim Connolly's latest injury is a broken rib and he'll miss the next 2 weeks (at a minimum). Don't activate the talented forward until he plays back to back games without any complications ...Colorado's Joe Sakic is expected back this evening after missing the last 5 games . He's been skating without any setbacks so expect him in the lineup this evening.Also for the Avs, Wojtek Wolski took an elbow to the head and is questionable to play this evening ...Dallas suffered probably the worst injury of the week (pending Luongo's announcement) when they lost Brenden Morrow for the season on Thursday with a torn ACL (knee) ligament ...Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom is out the week with a back injury . Reserve him for the week and check his status next Monday ...Nashville's Patrick Hornqvist was demoted to Milwaukee (AHL) last week . He'll no doubt be back in reasonably short order, but the team wants a more consistent effort from the rookie ...New Jersey's Brian Rolston was skating on his own last week hoping to be back soon from a high ankle sprain . During private workouts he suffered a setback and is not able to do any on ice work at the moment . Expect him to be out a while longer ....The Islanders Frans Nielsen suffered multiple leg injuries after taking an elbow from the Devils Mike Mottau on Friday . Nielsen is out 8-12 weeks ... For the Rangers Scott Gomez will be back this evening when the club hosts Phoenix . He has missed time with a lower leg injury but nearly made it back Saturday in the loss to the Sens . All systems are a go for this evening ...Philadelphia's Daniel Briere missed his target return Friday against Buffalo . The Flyers have 4 games and he may get back later in the week but groin injuries always linger and I'd be inclined to go with another option for this week ...Per the NHL Network, Paul Kariya will be out at least until the weekend with a foot injury. Also for the Blues rookie Patrick Berglund remains day to day with a groin injury ... ...Tampa Bay placed both Gary Roberts and Chris Gratton on IR with upper and lower body injuries respectively . They are eligible to return Wednesday night against the Rangers . I'd stay away from both for this week unless you're really short of options ... Washington's Alex Semin is out this evening against the Wild and iffy for the rest of the week . He has an upper body injury, but I would expect he won't miss the whole week . Sergei Fedorov is out tonight against the Wild, and is day to day with a sprained ankle . After trying to play through it and having to pull back I'd choose another option for week #7 .
Defensemen:
Carolina's Tim Gleason injured his leg Sunday in a collision with the Predators Martin Erat . He's day to day at the moment ...Edmonton's Lubomir Visnovsky was injured in practice Saturday (knee) and will be re-evaluated later today . I expect he'll miss at least some time, and I'd go with another option for this week ...Vancouver's Sami Salo has been slowed by both hamstring issues and the flu . He is expected back this evening against Detroit ..Washington's Mike Green has a shoulder injury that caused him to miss Saturday's game . A Washington Post report suggests Green is out against Minnesota, and is "shooting for Friday or Saturday . The safe play is probably to hold him out this week .