The injury bug continues to hit the Nashville Predators as now captain Roman Josi is down with a lower-body injury. He played in 5:32 against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night & did not return.
Josi last suffered an injury on March 18, 2023, in a 3-2 OTL vs Winnipeg. He missed the 2nd & 3rd periods that night too.
Before tonight’s game in Dallas, the Predators have recalled 32-year-old defenseman Kevin Gravel from the Milwaukee Admirals. Gravel has five points in 20 games this season & currently serves as the team captain.
Nashville simultaneously placed defenseman Alexandre Carrier on the injured reserve as well. He joins his accomplice Jeremy Lauzon who is dealing with a lower-body injury that took place seven games ago.
Josi joins Carrier, Lauzon, & forward Ryan O’Reilly as the latest skaters to suffer an injury during this eight-game losing skid.
Gravel’s most recent call to Nashville where he played in consecutive games was in 2023 from March 28 to April 4, skating in five straight contests. He was a plug & play defenseman for the Predators earning four recalls to play 23 times in the NHL that season.
Currently, four of Nashville’s six healthy defensemen have played in both the AHL & NHL this season.
So far in the AHL, Gravel has played the last nine games with prospect Ryan Ufko & opened the first two games of the season alongside Nick Blankenburg.
Head coach Andrew Brunette & his staff will piece together their lineup, presumably without having Josi available for the next few games.
Tune in to tonight’s game right here on 102.5 The Game with Max Herz & Hal Gill on the call. Robby Stanley is hosting the pregame show starting at 6 p.m. He’ll have updates during intermissions & after the game on the postgame show.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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