NHL Injury Report for January 6: Shesterkin Helped Off the Ice

Happy New Year & welcome to the Fantrax NHL Injury Report for January 6, 2026. In today’s report, we discuss Igor Shesterkin’s injury from last night, a Matthew Tkachuk update, and Mackenzie Blackwood’s return to the IR. Read all about this and more in today’s NHL Injury Report from Fantrax.

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NHL Injury Report, January 6:

Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers

Igor Shesterkin needed assistance off the ice following a collision with JJ Peterka pic.twitter.com/6OG2P0Jdk1

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 6, 2026

Yikes! This doesn’t look good. Shesterkin bore no weight on his left leg exiting the ice or going down the tunnel.  The tweet is misleading regarding the collision – J.J. Peterka, RW, Utah Mammoth, made limited contact with his right pad. This might have been enough considering the split position Shesterkin was in.

Regardless, this is not good news. The Rangers don’t play again until Thursday, so we may not get a clear update on his status today.

Rarely do players return one or two games later after leaving the ice like this. Perhaps if this were a playoff game, but it’s not. I’m expecting the overused phrase of ‘week to week.’

If you own Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick is who you grab. He will step in and provide very solid replacement coverage during Shesterkin’s absence.

I suspect Dylan Garand will get the call to be Quick’s backup. He’s 7-7-2, with a .908 Save Percentage for the Hartford Wolf Pack this year. He’s paid his dues in the AHL; he should spell Quick on back-to-backs and see his first NHL action of his career.

Matt Tkachuk – Florida Panthers

There’s a possibility Matthew Tkachuk plays in the first four-game block of this upcoming road trip, per Paul Maurice.

He needs to go through some contact practices first before getting in, though.

— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) January 5, 2026

Tkachuk has been wearing a no-contact jersey in practice and will accompany the team on their six-game road trip.

Jordan McPherson is the first reporter I’ve seen specifically target the ‘first four-game block’ of the road trip for his return. All other reports I’ve seen suggest the second half of the trip.

If we take the overlap from all the guesswork, we’re looking at road trip game 4 as a potential return. That would be Monday, January 12th, in Buffalo.

We’re closing in on a calendar year since he was injured. Expect a couple of full-contact practices before he’s cleared to return.

The Panthers organization will be holding their breath during the Olympics. As will I, he’s been burning a hole on my IR for 10 months now.

Mackenzie Blackwood – Colorado Avalanche

Avs coach Jared Bednar said Mackenzie Blackwood’s injury popped up at practice Thursday. Joel Kiviranta is also not on the trip. Gavin Brindley is but is not playing tonight. Taylor Makar is in.

No timelines, but Bednar hopes Blackwood/Kiviranta can return after the trip.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) January 3, 2026

Luckily, Scott Wedgewood has matched Blackwood save for save all season. Wedgewood will guard the crease until Blackwood returns.

The good news, Coach, Jared Bednar doesn’t believe the injury to be serious. The Avalanche play one more game on the road, Tuesday in Tampa Bay, before returning home to play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Thursday seems quick. As well as Wedgewood has played, if Blackwood isn’t quite 100%, don’t be surprised to see Wedgewood grab the extra start.

Trent Minor has been recalled and will serve as Wedgewood’s backup. With Blackwood expected back sooner rather than later, don’t expect him to see any game action this time around.

Jason Zucker – Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres' power play has gone quiet recently, which is a major concern after the winning streak came to an end.@BrandonCroce delivers 3 ideas to create a spark as Jason Zucker returns from injury ⬇️#Sabres | #LetsGoBuffalo | #Sabrehoodhttps://t.co/sRE5OmImbU

— Sabre Noise (@sabrenoise) January 5, 2026

Will Zucker recognize this team when he steps back on the ice? The Sabres just had their 10-game win streak broken, a far cry from the struggling team he’s played with for two seasons.

He has 18 points in 21 games on the year; expect him to jump back into a top-six role. Keep an eye on the Sabres’ power play. He was on the first unit before the injury. However, as well as they are playing, at least in the short term, they may not want to mess with the chemistry too much.

Seth Jarvis – Carolina Hurricanes

It's a practice day for the #Canes in Morrisville.

Shayne Gostisbehere, who has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, is back with the group as they prepare for a weekend back-to-back against the Avalanche and Devils.

Seth Jarvis is once again skating in a… pic.twitter.com/uAwbD0QWdC

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) January 2, 2026

Jarvis returned to practice in a non-contact jersey on Friday, January 2nd. While he’s not ready to return just yet, this is good news. It is a big step toward returning to game action.

After getting snubbed by Team Canada for the Olympics, expect him to play with a chip on his shoulder when he does return.

Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche

He suffered an upper-body injury after crashing awkwardly into the goalpost against the Florida Panthers.

The Avalanche will feel his absence more than most fantasy hockey teams. Landeskog has been floating on the periphery of fantasy relevance most of the season. In shallow pools, he’s remained on the waiver wire, outside of a hot streak.

He’s going to miss ‘some time’ – how long that will be is unknown at the moment. Again, I’m expecting a week-to-week timeline when they get a better idea of the extent of the injury.

There you have your NHL injury report for January 6. Thanks for reading.