Olympic Injuries An Issue

Niklas Backstrom will miss the gold medal game on Sunday because of a migraine he allegedly used a banned substance. While a migraine using allergy meds may or may not have an impact on his play when he returns to the NHL in a couple of days, plenty of players are trading their national colors for a spot on the IR.

Here’s a brief look at the list of significant injuries suffered in Sochi:

NY Islanders: F John Tavares will miss the rest of the regular season (knee).

NY Rangers: F Mats Zuccarello will miss 3-4 weeks (hand).

Detroit: F Henrik Zetterberg will miss at least 2 months (back surgery).

Pittsburgh: D Paul Martin could miss up to 1 month (hand).

Florida: F Alexsander Barkov will miss 4-6 weeks (knee).

Columbus: D Fedor Tyutin will miss 2-3 weeks (ankle).

Florida: F Tomas Kopecky’s tournament ended early (concussion).