Nashville Predators’ Ryan McDonagh placed on injured reserve, out 2-4 weeks

The Nashville Predators have announced that defenseman Ryan McDonagh will miss 2-4 weeks with an upper-body injury.

McDonagh took a puck to the face during Nashville’s game on Friday against the New York Islanders and was escorted off the ice. Alex Romanov took a backhand shot from the hashmarks that hit McDonagh straight in the face, keeping the puck out of the net in the process.

McDonagh, 33, was traded to the Predators over the summer as a cap dump move by the Tampa Bay Lightning. McDonagh was a key piece of the team’s two Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021, serving more as a shutdown option compared to the more high-flying play of Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev. McDonagh had been lined up with Roman Josi on Nashville’s top pairing, so it’s a sizeable loss for the Preds.

In his absence, the team has called up 27-year-old Jordan Gross. He has three games his credit this season, scoring a pair of goals against Vancouver on Nov. 5. The undrafted defenseman has played in 13 NHL games total, mainly with Arizona, while acting as a reliable veteran in the AHL through most of his pro career.

It’ll be interesting to see how McDonagh’s loss impacts the Predators. While he hasn’t played at the same quality he once did, he’s been an integral piece of Nashville’s blueline. Missing him for a few weeks this month will definitely be noticeable.

The Predators currently find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff fight, sitting one point behind the Colorado Avalanche in the wild-card race. The Avalanche swept the Predators in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs after losing star goaltender Juuse Saros to injury. The Preds have been on a bit of a hot streak, though, going 7-2-1 over the past 10 games, including a three-game winning streak.