Eight injured NHL players on playoff-contending teams

It can happen to any team. A playoff bid is within reach, and boom!—one of the team’s leaders is attacked by the injury ninja.

There’s a number if playoff contenders missing key parts to their rosters as the final nine-or-so games of the regular season wrap up. Some teams have been able to rally with the help of other roster pieces—see the Penguins in Evgeni Malkin’s absence for the best example—while others are trying to fill the void as the playoffs become more set.

Here’s a look at eight injured players on playoff-contending teams and how their absences affect their squads.

Michal Neuvirth
Goaltender-Philadelphia Flyers
Out: Remainder of regular season with torn meniscus in left knee
The impact: There might not be a team grinding harder for a playoff berth than the Flyers. And as beat guy Sam Carchidi points out, their upcoming schedule becomes even tougher with Steve Mason having to shoulder the work load for the injured Neuvirth, who has also been having an outstanding season. Mason reportedly said of losing his fellow netminder: “We haven’t really been blessed with an easy schedule to finish off, but we’re not going to use that as an excuse.”  

Philly fell to Columbus 3-2 in the shootout on Tuesday, but moved into the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the one point. They are tied with the Detroit Red Wings with 83 points, though the Flyers have a game in hand.

Corey Crawford
Goaltender- Chicago Blackhawks
Out: Day-to-day with an upper-body injury
The impact: It’s unfortunate to see Crawford sidelined after having such a solid season for Chicago. It’s unsettling still for the Blackhawks who are sputtering ahead of the 2016 playoffs, including a 4-0 shutout at the hands of the division rival  Dallas Stars.

Whether Crawford returns or backup Scott Darling continues between the pipes, the rest of the team in-front of them has to get their “confidence” back. “It’s unfortunate to get a few bounces like we did last night but that’s part of the game,” Andrew Desjardins told Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago of the loss to Dallas. “There are certain things we could have done a little bit better.”

David Perron
Left Wing-Anaheim Ducks
Out: Week-to-week with a shoulder injury
The impact: Perron was  one of the driving forces during Anaheim’s mid-season upswing after being acquired from Pittsburgh in January. While we may never know if having him in the lineup would have prevented the Ducks’ 4-3 loss to the subpar Montreal Canadiens, coach Bruce Boudreau expects that another player will fill that void. He said of the injury, according to ESPN: “If someone goes out, someone goes in.”

Tyler Seguin
Center-Dallas Stars
Out: 3-4 weeks  with torn Achilles
The impact: The Stars might have won two tilts since Seguin was sidelined with the gruesome injury. But they still have to weather a few tough storms with Western Conference foes—games against San Jose, Nashville, LA and Anaheim—without his offensive  firepower in their quest for a playoff bid.

The rehabbing Seguin admitted that he’d like to be back before that, but told the Dallas Morning News right after his surgery that there was a timeframe set just yet. “We haven’t really talked about goals much, but I can’t really picture myself missing Game 1,” Seguin reportedly said.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Defenseman- San Jose Sharks
Out: Day-to-day with lower body injury
The impact: No team wants to be without their top defenseman, but the Sharks aren’t rushing Vlasic’s healing process as they fight to secure a playoff spot in the West.

Lucky for them, AHL recall Dylan DeMelo has stepped into his spot quite well, and the rest of the defense has filled in the rest of the holes. “If you want to go back even before (Vlasic) got hurt—we’ve been great for the last couple months I think,” starting goalie Martin Jones complimented the defense. “It’s really made my job and (backup James Reimer’s) job really easy.”

Marian Gaborik
Los Angeles Kings
Out: Sidelined with knee injury since February 12
The impact : The Kings are still the team to beat in the Pacific Division. But in the absence of Gaborik, along with Kris Versteeg (foot injury) and Tanner Pearson (out due to personal reasons) LA needs more of the lineup to stand up and fill in the gaps.

Head coach Darryl Sutter told Lisa Dillman of the LA Times:” It's tough to score in this league. We didn't have Pearson tonight and Versteeg and Gaborik. That means other guys gotta step up. You can't use it as an excuse.”

Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene
Colorado Avalanche
Out: Both are sidelined at least two games with knee injuries
The impact: Being without your top two scorers for two games might not seem too scary. But if both MacKinnon and Duchene—who are currently not skating and set to be reevaluated over the upcoming weekend—aren’t healthy to participate in the last two weeks of the season, the Av’s playoff chance could be in serious jeopardy. As The Hockey News points out, Colorado has been bumped out of the second wild card spot by a desperate Minnesota Wild team, and have tough tilts ahead against Philadelphia, Minnesota, Nashville and St. Louis.