The Most Important Injuries Impacting the 2015-16 NHL Playoff Race

The clock is ticking toward the Feb. 29 NHL trade deadline, and the race for postseason positioning is beginning in earnest.

As teams around the league reach the three-quarter pole for 2015-16, quite a few of them have significant holes in their lineups thanks to injuries to key players.

Depending on the situation, the impact of these injuries manifests in different ways. In some cases, one key player will be the difference between a team making or missing the playoffs. Often, injury absences will lead to more aggressive trade-deadline maneuvering by the affected general managers. In rare cases, GMs become more likely to stand pat with the players they have rather than taking chances on lineup tweaks.

The seven players here each fits one of those categories. Some are expected to be out for extended periods of time, while the status of others remains in doubt—adding yet another layer of uncertainty for their teams.

Here's a look at the players whose injuries are making the biggest impact on their respective teams' playoff chances this season.

7. Alex Edler: Vancouver Canucks

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The Injury: As they pressed to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race, the Vancouver Canucks lost top defenseman Alex Edler and versatile forward Brandon Sutter to injury during the same penalty kill against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 9.

The Prognosis: The Canucks' Twitter account announced timelines of six weeks for Edler to heal from a fractured fibula and six to eight weeks for Sutter after surgery to repair a jaw fracture. By those estimates, neither player will be available until at least late March.

The Impact: Sutter is Vancouver's best two-way center, but he had only been back in the Canucks lineup for four games after missing two-and-a-half months with an abdominal surgery, so the Canucks are used to getting by without him.

Edler's injury is a much bigger blow. He has been the team's No. 1 defenseman for years, playing big minutes in all situations.

Rookie Ben Hutton has done an admirable job of filling in on the top pairing since Edler went down, but the Canucks have won just two of six games since these key injuries occurred and sit seven points out of a wild-card spot—an almost insurmountable hill to climb with just 23 games left this season.

Edler's injury appears to have dashed the Canucks' playoff hopes and should ensure the team sells off as many veteran players as possible at the trade deadline on the way to a serious franchise rebuild.

6. Ryan McDonagh: New York Rangers

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The Injury: February has been a rough month for New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh. After missing four games with a concussion suffered on Feb. 6, McDonagh was knocked out of the lineup again in his second game back when he took an elbow to the jaw from the Toronto Maple Leafs' Leo Komarov, per Rick Carpiniello of lohud.com.

The Prognosis: Carpiniello reported McDonagh has passed concussion tests and is considered day-to-day, but he didn't play on Feb. 21 in the Rangers' 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

The Impact: During the five games McDonagh has been out of the lineup in February, the Rangers are 4-0-1. They also picked up wins in both the games McDonagh didn't complete.

On the ice, all is well, but any question marks about McDonagh's health could have a ripple effect with respect to fellow defenseman Keith Yandle.

An unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, Yandle was an expensive acquisition by the Rangers for the 2015 playoff run. In an elaborate deal that also featured other minor pieces headed each way, then-general manager Glen Sather dealt prospect Anthony Duclair and two high draft picks for the offensive defenseman, who hasn't delivered as hoped during his time in the Big Apple.

As Damien Cox of Sportsnet explained, it would be prudent for general manager Jeff Gorton to try to recoup some assets by dealing Yandle before he's allowed to walk away on July 1, but McDonagh's status makes such a move much risky.

If the Rangers' top blueliner is sidelined for a significant period of time or isn't 100 pecent when he does play, the team will need all hands on deck if it hopes to make another deep playoff run this spring.

5. Marian Hossa: Chicago Blackhawks

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The Injury: Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa suffered a lower-body injury on Feb. 13, per Brian Hedger of NHL.com.

The Prognosis: Hossa was placed on injured reserve with a leg injury, according to the Chicago Blackhawks' website. Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago reported on Feb. 15 that Hossa was expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks.

The Impact: If all goes according to plan, Hossa will be healthy in plenty of time to rejoin Jonathan Toews on Chicago's top line. Even so, his injury gives the Hawks an incentive to add some depth on the right side for the playoffs, as they did down the middle last year when they brought in Antoine Vermette at the 2015 trade deadline.

Craig Custance of ESPN suggested the Edmonton Oilers' Teddy Purcell might be a good fit. Chicago scouts have also been spotted watching Radim Vrbata of the Vancouver Canucks, according to Jason Botchford of the Province. Vrbata's own status is questionable after he left Vancouver's win over Colorado on Feb. 21. Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada tweeted that Vrbata will be evaluated on Monday.

4. Jonathan Huberdeau: Florida Panthers

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The Injury: Florida Panthers left wing Jonathan Huberdeau got injured on Feb. 20 when he crashed back-first into the boards, per NHL.com.

The Prognosis: Florida Panthers coach Gerard Gallant told David J. Neal of the Miami Herald he didn't believe Huberdeau's injury was serious, suggesting the injury was "a little whiplash."

The Impact: Even if the Panthers' second-leading scorer doesn't miss significant time, his absence creates additional urgency for general manager Dale Tallon to add some pieces at the trade deadline. The team is already without two of its other young stars, center Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Erik Gudbranson, both of whom are suspected to be nursing concussions according to Neal.

The Panthers pulled off one of the best deadline deals of 2015 when they acquired Jaromir Jagr from the New Jersey Devils for a second-round and a third-round draft pick. Jagr led a late-season surge that got Panthers fans thinking about the playoffs before firing the Panthers to first place in the Atlantic Division this season.

Don't be surprised to see Tallon try to make another clever trade-deadline deal, especially if his team depth looks like it could be affected by a long list of injuries heading into the playoffs.

3. Alexander Steen: St.Louis Blues

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The Injury: St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen suffered an upper-body injury on Feb. 20, per Chris Pinkert of the team's website.

The Prognosis: Steen was placed on injured reserve on Feb. 21 and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

The Impact: The Blues have been plagued by injury issues all season but have kept pace with the top teams in the Central Division and are one of the hottest teams in the league, riding a five-game winning streak. 

Those five games coincided with Jaden Schwartz's return to the lineup after missing nearly four months with a broken leg, and the team shouldn't be without Alex Pietrangelo too much longer—Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Feb. 15 that the top defenseman is ahead of schedule after suffering a knee injury on Feb. 8, which could have him back in the lineup before the trade deadline.

If Steen is out for a month or more, that puts the Blues in the mix for one of the top forwards who will be available at the trade deadline. Could we see general manager Doug Armstrong enter the bidding for Eric Staal or Andrew Ladd? 

2. Anze Kopitar: Los Angeles Kings

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The Injury: Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar suffered a lower-body injury on Feb. 18, per L.A. Kings Insider's Jon Rosen. 

The Prognosis: It's not known when or how Kopitar was injured, so it's hard to say how his status will affect the team. Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times tweeted that the player is considered "day-to-day."

The Impact: The Kings have already lost top winger Marian Gaborik to a knee injury since the turn of the year, which Dillman reported could keep him out until the beginning of the playoffs. Losing Kopitar for any period of time would be a huge blow to the Kings' top six and special teams.

Los Angeles has enjoyed an easy ride at the top of the Pacific Division for most of the season but sits just two points in front of the surging Anaheim Ducks after the conclusion of games on Feb. 21. A tight race for playoff positioning down the stretch could take a toll on an undermanned Kings team, leaving them less than fresh for the postseason if they have to cope for a while without both Gaborik and Kopitar.

1. Carey Price: Montreal Canadiens

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The Injury: The NHL's most valuable player in the 2014-15 season, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has been sidelined since late November with a lower-body injury.

The Prognosis: Joey Alfieri of Pro Hockey Talk translated a report from La Presse on Feb. 12 that suggested Price won't return this season because of continuing issues with the lateral collateral ligament in his knee.

The Impact: The Canadiens were the hottest team in the NHL at the beginning of the season, recording a team-record nine straight victories to kick off the campaign, but they have fallen eight points out of a playoff spot as Price's injury woes have continued.

With forwards David Desharnais and Brian Flynn and defensemen Jeff Petry and Tom Gilbert also on the injured list, expect to see the Canadiens try to recoup some value for their impending free agents at the trade deadline rather than adding pieces to make a playoff push.

Better luck next year, Habs fans.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com, current through games completed Feb. 21.