Nobody's feeling sorry for the Montreal Canadiens, who are sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division, but the Habs suited up against the Washington Capitals on Monday night without four of their top nine forwards.
Gifted offensive dynamo Alex Galchenyuk, Andrew Shaw and David Desharnais were already on injured reserve when Montreal lost another one of its best wingers, Brendan Gallagher, on Jan. 5. He suffered two broken fingers after being hit by a Shea Weber shot.
When healthy, the four have produced 63 total points this season. Gallagher brings a tremendous all-around game to the table, ranking second on the team with a dominant 55.2 Corsi for Percentage. The Canadiens produce more shot attempts per 60 minutes with Gallagher on the ice than any other player on the club.
With another key player falling injured, Montreal will be moving up the rankings in minutes lost to injury as calculated by the website Man Games Lost. They currently sit in 10th for the cumulative ice time lost using each injured player's average time on ice per game.
Which teams have lost the most ice time due to injury and which have gotten off easy this season? Let's have a look, including a chart of all 30 teams' man games lost and time on ice lost.
The most injured teams
Detroit Red Wings
Minutes lost: 3,122 minutes
Impact: The Red Wings didn't come into the season with the same kind of firepower they have had for much of the past decade, but they might have at least been in the mix for a playoff spot if not for a myriad of injuries to key players; as it is, they're one point ahead of the Islanders for last place in the Eastern Conference.
Leading scorer Thomas Vanek, who has 25 points in 29 games, has missed 11 matches, while quality two-way center Darren Helm hasn't played since mid-November because of a shoulder injury.
On the blue line, Brendan Smith has battled a knee injury throughout the season, missing 16 games. He is one of Detroit's key puck movers, posting a plus-5.3 relative Corsi during his 24 contests.
The injury time on ice statistics only count skaters, so Detroit has it even worse off than the numbers look, with Jimmy Howard expected to be out until February with a knee sprain. In 13 games this season, Howard has an outstanding .934 save percentage, but he can't be saving all those pucks when he's on the shelf.
Edmonton Oilers
Minutes lost: 2,902 minutes
Impact: The Oilers' injury bug has mostly been relegated to their defense corps. They suffered a catastrophic loss when defenseman Darnell Nurse went down with an ankle injury on Dec. 12 that will keep him out until March. Nurse, who turns 22 next month, has averaged 19:30 of ice time per game in his first two NHL seasons. The former seventh-overall pick was showing signs of taking a step forward as he managed a 53.3 Corsi for percentage in 25 games before his injury.
Fellow blueliners Mark Fayne and Brandon Davidson have also been out for the majority of the season, combining to play in only 13 games. Luckily for the Oilers, most of their top forwards -- including Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle -- have played every game. Due in part to that great health up front, the Oilers are a point back of first place in the Pacific Division.
Buffalo Sabres
Minutes lost: 2,897 minutes
Impact: Just days before the regular season, the No. 2 overall pick from the 2015 draft Jack Eichel suffered an ankle injury that kept him out until late November. With Eichel sidelined, the Sabres won just seven of 21 games and struggled to put the puck in the net. Since he has returned, Eichel has scored nine goals in 18 games, and Buffalo has picked up at least a point in 12 of those contests. The impact of Eichel's injury was exacerbated by All-Star center Ryan O'Reilly suffering nagging ailments for most of the first half of the campaign, which caused him to miss 10 games.
The Sabres have also been without two of their heavy-minute defensemen in Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov for about half of the team's games. General manager Tim Murray traded for Kulikov to play alongside No. 1 defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, but the two have rarely seen the ice together. Buffalo sits near the bottom of the conference along with Detroit and the Islanders.
Dallas Stars
Minutes lost: 2,738 minutes
Impact: Three forwards who the Stars expected to be significant contributors have spent most of the season out of action. Wingers Patrick Sharp and Jiri Hudler along with center Cody Eakin have missed a total of 73 games. The three players together have combined for one goal.
Last season, Sharp played on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and produced 55 points in 76 games. Hudler was expected to provide depth scoring after posting 46 points between Calgary and Florida last season, and Eakin has become a very reliable third-line center.
The Stars have also seen center Jason Spezza and top-four defenseman Johnny Oduya miss a handful of games as well. And oh yeah, there's also the NHL's No. 2 scorer from last season, Jamie Benn, who last played on Dec. 31.
The quality of players lost has made it very difficult for Dallas to remain competitive in a tough division.
Winnipeg Jets
Minutes lost: 2,714 minutes
Impact: Winnipeg forward Bryan Little has been one of the most underappreciated players in the NHL during the past decade. He routinely scores between 50 and 60 points, and has been a positive Corsi player in all but two of his professional seasons since entering the league in 2007-08. This season, the loss of Little has had a big impact. In the 19 games he did play, he added 14 points and had a plus-4.5 relative Corsi.
The Jets, who came into this season with high expectations, have also seen top-four defenseman Tyler Myers miss 31 contests, and forward Mathieu Perreault only suit up for 28 of the team's 42 games. The Jets remain on the periphery of the playoff race, but will need better health to make a run.
The healthiest teams
Washington Capitals
Minutes lost: 170
Impact: The Capitals have seen nine of their forwards play 36 or more games this season, and the only top-six player to miss time has been T.J. Oshie, who has been on the ice for 32 of Washington's 39 matches. Superstars Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov have played in every game, giving their opponents no breaks from their explosive offensive attack.
The health of goalie Braden Holtby has also been key. The veteran netminder has started 31 games, with an outstanding .931 save percentage. Thanks to all the good health, the Caps are three points behind the Blue Jackets for first place in the league.
San Jose Sharks
Minutes lost: 630
Impact: The one Shark on long-term injured reserve is a good one -- forward Tomas Hertl, who spent most of last season playing with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski -- but the rest of San Jose's lineup has been intact on a nightly basis. To put their impressive health in context, the six highest-paid Sharks players have all played in every game this season, and three of them are age 36 or older.
Running with their full complement of skaters, the Sharks sit on top of the Pacific Division.
Ottawa Senators
Minutes lost: 835
Impact: The surprise Sens have been the victims of nicks and cuts, but have not seen many major injuries. Scoring forwards Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone have combined to miss 12 games, and defenseman Mark Mathot has missed four games. The Senators' big offseason acquisition Derick Brassard has suited up for all 39 contests, and perennial Norris Trophy finalist Erik Karlsson has played the fifth-most minutes in the NHL. It's no wonder the Senators continue to push for a playoff spot, but experiencing a major injury could derail that effort.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Minutes lost: 863
Impact: You rarely hear commentators point to health as a reason that a team is overachieving or beating expectations, but that is a major reason the Blue Jackets have been blazing hot during the first half of the season. The top 11 even-strength scorers on the Blue Jackets have played 33 games or more.
Where health has been the biggest benefit for Columbus, however, has been in goal. Sergei Bobrovsky's last two seasons were marred with injuries, but this season he is finally back to full strength, and has played 34 games with an outstanding .931 save percentage.
Carolina Hurricanes
Minutes lost: 923
Impact: Two of the Hurricanes' players that have missed time have been top-six forwards, in Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal, but neither has missed more than 10 games. Despite this run of good health luck, the Canes are the one team in this group that remains out of the playoff mix, sitting five points behind the Flyers for the second wild card.
The biggest injury setback for the club was losing backup goalie Eddie Lack. Not because Lack was playing well when he got hurt, but because the Canes need to determine whether he can be a long-term option in net; instead they have been forced to play Cam Ward in 34 games.