Kevin Fiala of Predators has surgery to repair fractured left femur

Nashville Predators forward Kevin Fiala will miss the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after having surgery to repair a fractured left femur sustained during the second period of Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
Fiala was resting comfortably at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Predators general manager David Poile said Thursday.

"He is extremely disappointed that he will not be able to help his teammates in their quest for the Stanley Cup," Poile said, "but is looking forward to starting his rehabilitation upon his return to Nashville."
Fiala was injured when he was checked by Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, fell and slid into the end boards. Fiala was attended to for several minutes before leaving on a stretcher 1:46 into the second period.
"It's a tough loss, there's no question," Predators center Mike Fisher said. "Everything went well … and he's doing well. That's the main concern. He's one of those guys that's played really, really well so far in the playoffs and is a big part of our team. To lose a guy like that is definitely tough, but glad he's doing OK."

The Predators defeated Blues the 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 2 is at Scottrade Center on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).
"[Fiala] was playing really well for us," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "He was a big part of who we are and what we were doing, and if you take a player like that out of the lineup it's going to be a tough loss, but I think right now we're just wishing good thoughts for him and hoping he heals up and gets better."
Fiala, 20, had 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 54 games during the regular season. He scored in overtime to give the Predators a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of their first-round sweep.