Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi leaves game, doesn't return
The hits keep on coming for the Nashville Predators.
With Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Alexandre Carrier, Ryan McDonagh and Juuso Parssinen among those already out with injuries, the Predators watched captain Roman Josi leave Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets for undisclosed reasons.
Josi, who was on the ice at the end of the first period, did not play in the second or third periods.
The Predators said after the game Josi still was being evaluated and they'd have an update on him on Sunday before their game against the New York Rangers.
Josi's 59 points (18 goals, 41 assists) lead the Predators. He's also tops on the team in ice time.
"He's our best player," said forward Luke Evangelista, who scored a goal Saturday. "When he goes down it's a huge loss, but I thought some guys that maybe don't usually play those big minutes really stepped up."
Predators coach John Hynes said replacing Josi, should he miss any length of time, will be a tall task.
"It's really challenging," Hynes said. "No one can fill Roman's role, the amount of time he plays, obviously the natural skills and ability to generate offense, break the puck out of the zone. You have to try to divide it up as best you can. .. If he's out you have to be able to do that."
The Predators are five points behind the Jets for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Nashville has three games in hand on the Jets.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi leaves game, doesn't return
