Here are a few quick injury updates from around the NHL.
- In case you haven’t been following, Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward has been dealing with some weird infection on his forehead for the last week or so. Who knows how that happened (or if it looked like Matt Hendricks’ gnarly right eye from 24/7 last night), but our pals at Rotoworld passed along a note that indicates he’ll play for his team tonight.
(In case you were wondering, the Canes Now note indicates that the infection swelled up so badly that it almost closed up his left eye. Yikes.)
- The Washington Capitals are gearing up for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, but they will do so without forward Matt Bradley. In fact, he almost certainly won’t play in the Winter Classic either, as Katie Carrera of the Washington Post reports that he’ll miss two to four weeks with a broken finger. Carrera writes that this loss will increase the pressure on minor league call-ups from the Hershey Bears including Andrew Gordon, who recently scored his first two NHL points.
- Considering the rough boarding hit delivered by Anaheim Ducks forward Jason Blake, it’s not surprising that Buffalo Sabres pest Patrick Kaleta is dealing with some injury issues. He missed two periods during Tuesday’s game, but practiced on Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. While he might be out for a while, this seems like good news for Kaleta.