NHL Injury Report for November

The 2009-10 season, like any other NHL season, has had its share of injuries that make a significant impact on teams’ play. This year, however, along with the regular physical injuries incurred from NHL action, the swine flu epidemic that has Americans lining up to get their flu shots has made more than one appearance in the NHL as well.

Quintin Laing, of the Washington Capitals, along with Doug Weight, Peter Budaj, Ladislav Smid and Lubomir Visnovsky have all tested positive for the H1N1 virus. NHL teams have taken a number of measures to ensure that the virus does not spread. Players are no longer sharing water bottles, and even reporters in some cities are being asked to sanitize their hands before entering the locker rooms.

The New York Rangers were happy that Marian Gaborik’s injury last week was nothing serious, and the high-scoring forward was back in action against the Bruins on Sunday. Other teams haven’t been so lucky, however. The Boston Bruins are playing without top forwards Marc Savard (broken foot) and Milan Lucic (finger surgery), both expected to miss between 4-6 weeks. Ilya Kovalchuk is also expected to miss 3-5 weeks with a broken right foot. Jonathan Toews has been out of action with a concussion after getting leveled against Vancouver, while Eric Staal will likely miss another week with an upper body injury.

Veterans Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen have yet to play this season, and remain on the injured reserve, both with rib injuries. Montreal lost star defenseman Andrei Markov in the first game of the season, as he broke his foot against Toronto. Vancouver has been without Daniel Sedin and Pavol Demitra for some time now. Sedin broke his foot early in October, while Demitra remains out indefinitely after having shoulder surgery. Alex Ovechkin will likely miss at least a week after suffering an upper body injury against Columbus on Sunday night. Pittsburgh managed to win the Cup despite missing Sergei Gonchar for much of last season, and they will have to do it again, as Gonchar will miss at least 3-4 more weeks recovering from a broken wrist. Evgeni Malkin will likely be out for 2-3 weeks after suffering a shoulder injury. Simon Gagne will be out at least 6 weeks as he undergoes abdominal surgery, while Daniel Briere hopes to make a speedy return from a groin injury.

The Red Wings have suffered a number of key injuries already, which accounts for their uncharacteristically slow start. First, Johan Franzen was sidelined for four months after requiring knee surgery. Then Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Brian Rafalski, all key members of Detroit’s defensive corps, came down with flu-like symptoms. Factor in Andreas Lilja’s place on the injured reserve with a concussion, and Detroit is now playing without five of their usual starting defensemen. Valtteri Filppula is also out for 6-8 weeks, as he broke his wrist just this past weekend.

Edmonton and New Jersey have also been hit particularly hard. Edmonton place three defensemen on injured reserve in two weeks at the start of the season. Marc Pouliot will miss at least another month with a sports hernia, while Sheldon Souray and Steve Staios are both out with concussions. New Jersey is missing forwards Patrik Elias and Jay Pandolfo, as well as Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya on defense. Oduya should return this week, while Martin will be out at least four weeks after breaking his arm. Elias is still recovering from groin surgery, while Pandolfo will probably require 4-6 weeks to recover from a separated shoulder.

Goalies haven’t been immune to injury, either, as a number of star goalies will be missing some playing time. Roberto Luongo broke a rib last week, but will hopefully return later this week. Toronto lost Vesa Toskala and Jonas Gustavsson to injury earlier in the year, but both have returned to action. Kari Lehtonen is on injured reserve in Atlanta after undergoing back surgery, while JS Giguere has also been placed on injured reserve with a groin injury. Marty Turco is also currently out with flu-like symptoms.