NASHVILLE – Predators coach Barry Trotz said on Tuesday that defenseman Hal Gill, a key acquisition before the NHL's trading deadline, would be a game-time decision with a lower-body injury on Wednesday for Game 1 of his team's Western Conference quarterfinal series with Detroit.
The Predators acquired the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Gill along with a fifth-round conditional pick in February from Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick and minor league forwards Blake Geoffrion and Rob Slaney.
Gill, 37, who won a Stanley Cup in 2009 with Pittsburgh and played in the Cup final in '08 with the Penguins, is among the league's top shot-blockers and leads the Predators in average penalty-killing time on ice. In 23 games with Nashville, he's averaged 18:02 per game and posted a plus-4 rating.
Trotz wouldn't say how Gill was injured nor go into detail about the injury, but speculation is Gill hurt himself blocking a shot in the game last Thursday. He sat out the regular season finale on Saturday and hasn't practiced with the team since.
