Hockey’s a high-speed, physical game, so injuries in the NHL are virtually unavoidable. But not all injuries are created equal.
Some are easier to play through with the help of doctors and therapists, while others can force even the most determined athlete to the sidelines.
Now that we’re into the last month of the NHL’s 2024-25 regular season, injury news takes on extra importance. It also catches fans’ attention when top stars, such as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, are out of action — especially without much explanation about their status or return date.
Here’s an overview of where the teams with playoff aspirations are sitting, injury-wise, as of Wednesday, March 26.
Atlantic Division
The seeding here is wide open for the defending Stanley Cup champs and two serious challengers.
The Florida Panthers are hoping that Matthew Tkachuk and newcomer Brad Marchand will be able to step in seamlessly when they get the doctors’ thumbs-up and are expecting Dmitry Kulikov to return before the playoffs begin. Marchand could play as soon as Friday against the Utah Hockey Club.
For the moment, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs’ rosters are looking pretty complete. None of the Lightning’s key players has missed more than a handful of games this year, although big defenseman Erik Cernak left Tampa Bay’s 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins late in the first period on Tuesday.
Metropolitan Division
The seeding is probably set for the Metro’s top three teams. The Washington Capitals should face the second wild-card team in Round 1, while the Carolina Hurricanes currently hold home-ice advantage against the New Jersey Devils.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe will be hoping his team can stay alive long enough for Dougie Hamilton to get back into action — possibly after the first round. Jonas Siegenthaler could return after the end of the regular season, but Jack Hughes is ruled out after his shoulder surgery. Also, Jacob Markstrom hasn’t been his usual self since coming back from his MCL sprain in early March. He’s now 1-5-1 since rejoining the team.
The Hurricanes dodged a bullet when Seth Jarvis avoided injury after crashing hard into the boards in Los Angeles on Saturday. Andrei Svechnikov has now missed seven games with an upper-body injury, but the good news is he skated as an extra forward on Tuesday.
Eastern Conference Wild Cards
The Ottawa Senators look reasonably safe in the first wild-card spot. They’re also pretty healthy, and Brady Tkachuk continues to perform at a high level.
For the second wild card, it looks like a five-horse race.
The Columbus Blue Jackets saw Sean Monahan and Erik Gudbranson return to action in their 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Monday.
The Islanders are still without Semyon Varlamov, who has been sidelined since November. They’re hoping Mat Barzal can return soon after a two-month absence due to a knee issue.
The Detroit Red Wings’ head of steam seemed to evaporate around the same time Andrew Copp headed for surgery in late February. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson is also now out of action, and trade acquisition Petr Mrazek left Monday’s game against Utah with an injury as well.
That leaves the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens as the healthiest of the bunch. Kirby Dach remains sidelined, but Kaiden Guhle is with the Habs on their current road trip. He could be back in action soon.
Central Division
Like the Metro, the Central Division seeding looks pretty set. While the Winnipeg Jets battle the Capitals for the Presidents’ Trophy, the Dallas Stars have the inside track on home-ice advantage in the ‘Rantanen’s Revenge’ first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Jets have missed Neal Pionk since he went down two weeks ago and are now without Gabriel Vilardi as well. Both players are classified as week-to-week.
And while the Stars will most likely have to wait until the playoffs begin before Miro Heiskanen can get back to action, they were lucky that Roope Hintz missed just a handful of games and that Rantanen was just bruised and swollen after he got hit in the face by a puck on Monday.
The Avs are also now missing a key defenseman, with Josh Manson sidelined until late in the regular season. But what a boost it would be for Colorado if Gabriel Landeskog really is able suit up for the first time since he was handed the 2022 Stanley Cup.
Pacific Division
The Edmonton Oilers may benefit from taking a conservative approach to McDavid and Draisaitl’s injuries, if it means they’ll be fresher for a deep playoff run. But that caution needs to be balanced with more immediate concerns.
Now seven points behind Vegas, first place is probably out of reach. But the Los Angeles Kings have been crushing their opponents ever since Drew Doughty got back into the lineup in January, and they now hold home-ice advantage as they look to flip the script in the playoffs’ most enduring matchup.
The Kings are the best team in the league in their own barn, and have established their team chemistry. But Alex Turcotte missed Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury, and Tanner Jeannot took just one shift after a brief fight with Matt Rempe late in the second period.
Meanwhile, the Oilers will be waiting at least another 10 days to get their first look at new acquisition Trent Frederic. Evander Kane could also make his first appearance of the year in the post-season.
On Tuesday, the Golden Knights got Shea Theodore back into the lineup for their 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. But they lost their leading goal-scorer, Tomas Hertl, to a shoulder ailment after he went hard into the boards on Sunday, and his timeline’s unclear. Veteran Alex Pietrangelo, who declined Team Canada’s 4 Nations invitation due to ongoing health issues, also missed Tuesday’s game with what’s being called a lower-body issue.
Western Conference Wild Cards
The Wild have endured some of the worst injury luck in the league this year and now hold just a two-point lead over the St. Louis Blues after two straight losses. Jonas Brodin is now back in the lineup, and coach John Hynes indicated Tuesday that Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov are expected to start skating soon, which is good news. Marcus Foligno is also dealing with an upper-body issue that has kept him out for five games.
Despite losing Colton Parayko to injury, the St. Louis Blues are starting to look like playoff shoo-ins.
Behind them, the Calgary Flames are close to getting captain Mikael Backlund back after a two-week absence, and Utah is fully manned after dealing with several long-term injuries on the blueline earlier in the season.
But the Vancouver Canucks can’t seem to maintain any positive momentum. Quinn Hughes appears to have raised his game to another level despite dealing with multiple injuries this year, and Thatcher Demko looked good in his return against the Devils on Monday. But Elias Pettersson (the $11.6-million forward) and Nils Hoglander were knocked out of Saturday’s loss against the New York Rangers. They went back to Vancouver for treatment as the Canucks continued their Eastern road swing.
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