Injuries Piling up for Nashville Predators to Open Regular Season

The Nashville Predators are dealing with a growing list of injuries just four games into the season. Defenseman William Trudeau was placed on injured reserve Friday with an upper-body injury suffered against the Montreal Canadiens. Forward Mavrik Bourque is also expected to miss Saturday's contest in Ottawa after absorbing a hit from Alex Newhook, while goaltender Justus Annunen remains day-to-day on injured reserve.

With Bourque sidelined, rookie forward Vitali Pinchuk could make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Head coach Andrew Brunette also faces lineup decisions on defense, where Ilya Lyubushkin and Jack Ahcan serve as options to replace Trudeau on the blue line.