NHL.com: Lower-body injury sidelines Sullivan for Game 4

Wednesday, 05.04.2011 / 6:20 PM / Nashville Predators Playoffs Coverage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Predators coach Barry Trotz said veteran wing Steve Sullivan will sit out Game 4 of Nashville's Western Conference Semifinals series with Vancouver with a lower-body injury.

Sullivan got tangled up with a Vancouver player and hobbled off the ice to the locker room with 3:10 left in regulation on Tuesday in Game 3 and did not return.

The 36-year-old only played 44 games this season because of injury and only one regular season game after Feb. 24. He has 2 goals in the playoffs while playing in all nine postseason games for Nashville thus far, but his ice time has been limited and he has mostly played a fourth-line role.

Trotz said he has two options to replace Sullivan: veteran J-P Dumont and 21-year-old Colin Wilson. Wilson played in all 82 regular-season games but has been a healthy scratch in the playoffs.

Wilson participated in warm-ups on Tuesday and Trotz said he was close to putting him in the lineup.

"Yeah, Willie's ready," Trotz said. "I was really thinking about putting him in last night. I told him to get ready. It would be a warm-up decision. I feel he's ready for the postseason. He's a young guy, talented. He's a big body. His play at the end of the year wasn't where I wanted it to be. And no one allowed him to get into that first series because everyone played well.

"He had a tough time dealing with that. He's over that, but he realizes that, 'Hey, I can now contribute and I get it and have to be a pro about it.' It's part of his process of being a really good pro."

Dumont, 33, was often a healthy scratch at the end of the regular season but played in Games 5 and 6 of the first round after Martin Erat went out with an upper-body injury. Dumont made a big play to earn an assist in Nashville's decisive Game 6 victory but also took a penalty and was benched, finishing with only 5:37 of time on ice. He has 17 goals in 50 career playoff games.

Author: John Manasso | NHL.com Correspondent

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  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
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12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
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2012-2013 REGULAR SEASON
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
S. Weber 48 9 19 -2 28
D. Legwand 48 12 13 -6 25
M. Fisher 38 10 11 6 21
C. Wilson 25 7 12 1 19
R. Josi 48 5 13 -7 18
G. Bourque 34 11 5 6 16
S. Kostitsyn 46 3 12 -5 15
P. Hornqvist 24 4 10 -1 14
K. Klein 47 3 11 -1 14
N. Spaling 47 9 4 -10 13
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
P. Rinne 15 16 8 .910 2.43
C. Mason 1 7 1 .873 3.73

 


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