Good news and bad news on injury front for Predators

November 2, 11:14 PMNashville Predators ExaminerJim Diamond

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Shea Weber (6) checks Boston Bruins' Brad Marchand into the boards.

AP Photo/Winslow Townson

Despite the regular season being just a month old, the Nashville Predators have already faced their share of adversity.

Before the season even started, training camp injuries to Jordin Tootoo, Joel Ward, and Colin Wilson prevented the team from icing their anticipated roster when the real games started. Ward and Wilson have since returned to the lineup, and Tootoo is set to make his season debut when the team travels to Anaheim Thursday to face the once mighty Ducks.

Once the season started, top line wing J.P. Dumont was given a rough ride into the boards in the season opener in Dallas and missed the remainder of that game plus the next four with concussion-like symptoms.

Captain Jason Arnott has missed the last six games with an arm injury. He too is expected to return Thursday in Anaheim.

Martin Erat's lower-body injury has kept him out for the last two games. He will make the western trip and may return Thursday or Saturday in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately for the Predators, a new name was added to the injured list following Saturday's victory over the Stars. And it is not just any name; it is Shea Weber, the team's best player and leading goal scorer. He is out one to two weeks with a foot injury.

Weber blocked a Brenden Morrow slap shot at the 7:58 mark of the second period Halloween night that left him in obvious discomfort. Despite playing just one shift in the third period, following the game he downplayed the situation. "I got benched," he joked. "I feel fine."

In his postgame press conference, Predators head coach Barry Trotz gave a somewhat odd analysis of why Weber did not play in the third, save for the one short shift.

"He had lost his edge and just got banged up a little bit, so it was one thing after another, so we just kept his ice time down," Trotz said.

If the one to two week estimate is accurate, the team will be forced to somehow play without the All-Star blueliner for the next two to five games. His absence will be felt in every aspect of the game. He is averaging 24:09 of ice time per game, leads the team in goals with five, has scored exactly half of the team's six power-play goals, and is second on the team in hits with 30.

Nashville's next four games are on the road, two of which are against the high-scoring Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Home teams have the last change, so the opposing coaches jobs just got a little easier when selecting which players to send out onto the ice after Trotz selects his.

While Weber will not be on the ice for the next few games, players like Cody Franson and Alexander Sulzer are going to have to assume much bigger roles, and assume them quickly. Their 12 combined games of NHL experience will be put to the test trying to fill in for one of the world's premier defensemen.

No pressure though guys.