NHL Injury Report

The NHL is one of the most physical sports leagues on the planet, with players checking one another and imposing their will throughout each game. As a result, it is no surprise that NHL injuries are plentiful at times for teams. For that reason, the NHL injury report is incredibly valuable, as it allows bettors to understand where teams are from a health perspective ahead of each game.

Injury reports in the NHL are unique, in that they do not always specify exactly what kind of injury a player is suffering from. Due to the physical nature of hockey, teams are not mandated to disclose the exact body part that a player is suffering an injury on. Instead, they are required to disclose if the player is suffering from an upper or lower body injury.

There are exceptions to this system, where the precise injury to a player is no longer an unknown injury. This happens when a player is expected to miss time due to an injury like a concussion, as there is protocol that needs to be utilized for players who suffer head injuries. But overall, the NHL injury report system can be vague as far as what is ailing players in the league.

One area where injury reports are less vague in the NHL is discussing the amount of time that a player will miss due to injury. Players can be ruled as a game-time decision, active, out for a game, or on injured reserve. Players who are on injured reserve are typically out for the rest of the season, but remain on the roster in a slot reserved for injured players.

The NHL features rosters that are smaller than what bettors might see in the NHL and MLB, which makes injuries extremely important. Players missing time due to injury requires changes to each line on an NHL roster, which could take away the flow of a team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. It is up to a bettor to use the injury report to figure out how teams will be impacted by their losses.

Of course, not every team will end up on the NHL injury report every day. Teams that have a clean bill of health, so to speak, will not have players listed in the report. This is also important to keep in mind, as these teams may be able to take advantage of the continuity that their health provides them against opponents that are battling injuries in their own right.

No matter what a team’s injury situation, it is imperative in NHL betting that players familiarize themselves with the injury report and understand how valuable its information can be. Not knowing that a key player is out until a bet has been placed can be the difference between winning and losing both in the short and long-term.