NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz said Tuesday center Paul Gaustad, who is tied for fourth in the League in faceoff efficiency at 62.8 percent, would miss that night's game against the Detroit Red Wings at Bridgestone Arena with an upper-body injury.
Gaustad got hurt in Monday's 6-5 loss at the Colorado Avalanche in the first period, playing 58 seconds, and did not return. Trotz said he would know more about Gaustad's injury in a few days. Gaustad also missed the second, third and fourth games of the season with an upper-body injury that could be related.
The Predators are carrying 23 players on their roster, the maximum allowed, but forward Brian McGrattan is in Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment, leaving Brandon Yip as the only healthy extra forward.
Yip was scratched for the previous two games after having his ice time cut in the two before that. After playing 16:33 and going minus-1 in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 10, he played 10:47 then 10:21 in the next two games.
Defenseman Hal Gill likely will sit out his second straight game and fourth in the past five as a healthy scratch.
Projected lines:
PREDATORS
Martin Erat - Mike Fisher - Sergei Kostitsyn
Colin Wilson - David Legwand - Patric Hornqvist
Gabriel Bourque - Nick Spaling - Brandon Yip
Rich Clune - Craig Smith - Matt Halischuk
Out: Paul Gaustad, Hal Gill
RED WINGS
Henrik Zetterberg - Pavel Datsyuk - Damien Brunner
Daniel Cleary - Valtteri Filppula - Mikael Samuelsson
Drew Miller - Cory Emmerton - Jordin Tootoo
Tomas Tatar - Joakim Andersson - Justin Abdelkader
