On Thursday, the Nashville Predators will begin a 17-day, seven-game road swing, their longest of the season.
Thankfully, they’ll be getting a major piece back in the lineup.
Defenseman Roman Josi, out with a concussion since early October, will rejoin the club to start the trip in Phoenix, according to The Tennessean. The 23-year-old Swiss rearguard has missed all but two games this year with the ailment and is anxious to get back into the swing of things.
“Everything is good,” Josi explained. “You start pretty slow with a low heart rate, and it just progresses every day.
“I’ve skated hard the last couple of days, so I’m feeling good.”
Head coach Barry Trotz says he’s going to “ease” Josi back into the lineup, which might be difficult given the heavy workload Josi had prior to getting hurt. He averaged over 23 minutes per game last year playing alongside Shea Weber and, while he won’t line up with Weber to start, it’s expected he’ll get into a prominent role soon enough as the upcoming road trip promises to be a tough one for the Preds.
Things begin on Thursday in Phoenix, followed by a Saturday date against the 2012 Stanley Cup champs in Los Angeles. From there it’s off to Colorado, Winnipeg, New Jersey and Long Island before finishing up with a date in Pittsburgh on Nov. 15.