Red Wings rookie Gustav Nyquist will make his NHL playoff debut in place of injured forward Darren Helm, who underwent season-ending surgery to repair torn tendons in his right forearm, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com.
Nyquist had a goal and six assists in 18 games during the regular season.
"Helm's out and you can't really replace a guy like him,'' Nyquist said. "I just got to play my game, get in on the forecheck, get some speed and bring some energy.''
Predators defenseman Hal Gill tested his lower-body injury in a skate-around Friday morning but will not return for Game 2. Via the Associated Press:
"I’m going to give it some more time," Gill said. "I don’t think at this point I can help the team. We have some good players that could play so I’ll let them go."
Nashville coach Barry Trotz said he would warm up seven defensemen again before deciding on a replacement for Gill. Ryan Ellis could be a possibility to make his postseason debut to help a power play that went 0 of 6 in Nashville’s opening win.
Gill has played the second-most postseason games of any active NHL defenseman.
Nashville won Game 1, 3-2.
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