This article is part of our Injury Analysis series.
Washington's Alexander Semin suffered a groin injury Saturday that has already cost him two games. He is considered day-to-day at the moment; but as we have seen, groin injuries can have lingering effects or can become more serious than originally thought. Groin injuries are difficult to overcome because the injured tissue needs rest. The tissue tends to get stressed easily with several motions, so it is difficult to isolate which motion is the main culprit. Consider Semin questionable for Friday's game at this point.
Detroit's Valtteri Filppula missed two games with a groin injury of his own, but he was able to get back on the ice Monday. Filppula returned a couple days earlier than expected, so hopefully he does not aggravate it over the next couple games.
Keeping with the injured groin theme, we move on to fellow Red Wing Chirs Osgood. After dealing with a sore groin for several weeks, Osgood finally saw a specialist Monday; and the results were not good. Osgood has a "significant" groin tear and will miss the next 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery. Remember, groin injuries are touchy, so even this estimate may be a little optimistic. If all goes well, expect to see Osgood back on the ice sometime in early March.
St. Louis' T.J. Oshie has been recovering from ankle surgery for several weeks. He is reportedly just a couple weeks away from returning, but his range of motion is still limited and he appears to be having some
Washington's Alexander Semin suffered a groin injury Saturday that has already cost him two games. He is considered day-to-day at the moment; but as we have seen, groin injuries can have lingering effects or can become more serious than originally thought. Groin injuries are difficult to overcome because the injured tissue needs rest. The tissue tends to get stressed easily with several motions, so it is difficult to isolate which motion is the main culprit. Consider Semin questionable for Friday's game at this point.
Detroit's Valtteri Filppula missed two games with a groin injury of his own, but he was able to get back on the ice Monday. Filppula returned a couple days earlier than expected, so hopefully he does not aggravate it over the next couple games.
Keeping with the injured groin theme, we move on to fellow Red Wing Chirs Osgood. After dealing with a sore groin for several weeks, Osgood finally saw a specialist Monday; and the results were not good. Osgood has a "significant" groin tear and will miss the next 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery. Remember, groin injuries are touchy, so even this estimate may be a little optimistic. If all goes well, expect to see Osgood back on the ice sometime in early March.
St. Louis' T.J. Oshie has been recovering from ankle surgery for several weeks. He is reportedly just a couple weeks away from returning, but his range of motion is still limited and he appears to be having some issues with stiffness. Oshie still needs to regain his strength and endurance for skating. Depending on how much motion he is lacking, it may not impact his skating because the boot will limit the amount of motion he needs to skate. Getting strength back in the area is important because it affects one's speed and balance on his skates, but that should return before long. Oshie still does not have a target return date, but he should be back on the ice either right before, or after, the All-Star break.
New Jersey's Matt Taormina has been dealing with a high left ankle sprain for a while. He has not skated in three weeks and will sit out at least one more before being reevaluated. This is not good news since he has already had two other setbacks. The ligament between the tibia and fibula can be stressed by simple motions, depending on the joint's stability, but rotational motions can cause the most damage because something as simple as turning while walking can aggravate a high ankle sprain. The rotational motion will force separation of the tibia and fibula and stress the ligament. It is difficult to predict when the ankle will be stable enough for Taormina to get back on the ice, so his status remains in limbo.
Minnesota's Marck Zidlicky will try to rehab his shoulder injury instead of having surgery. The exact nature of the injury was not released, but the rehab option may end up being only a temporary solution. In many cases, unstable or torn shoulders usually end up needing surgery because contact sports tend to place too much stress on the shoulder and the muscles have a tough time compensating. The Wild will give Zidlicky a month or so of rehab before deciding if he will ultimately need surgery.
Lastly, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crsoby joined the ranks of the injured when he suffered a concussion last week. Crosby was only expected to miss about a week, but he has yet to return and the Penguins aren't revealing many details. There is rarely a timeline included with concussions; a player's return is based purely on symptoms and when they go away. Depending on when Crosby gets cleared for physical activity, and how close it is to the All-Star break, he could be out until after the festivities. Hopefully he gets back on the ice as soon as possible.
