A recent spate of injuries to Predators defensemen sidelined three of the team’s top four blueliners. While not an ideal scenario for any team, the struggling Predators rely on their top four defensemen to provide offense as well as defense, so this really wasn’t an ideal scenario.
With the likes of Roman Josi, Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier all sidelined with injuries, the Predators had to turn to their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals for reinforcements on defense. Those called upon to replace the injured defensemen not only filled in, but some of them also excelled, even to the point of making others expendable.
Injuries prompted the recalls of defensemen Adam Wilsby, Nick Blankenburg and Kevin Gravel from the Admirals. All were not only brought into the lineup for the Predators, but they were all asked to play significant minutes for the struggling Predators.
For Wilsby and Blankenburg, the duo played themselves into the conversation as full time NHL players, highlighted by scoring important goals at important times.
Wilsby appeared to score his first NHL goal Dec. 12 in a game in Dallas against the Stars. After the puck entered the net, the Stars challenged the play as offside, a contention the officials agreed with following a video review, taking the goal down.
A fourth-round pick of the Predators in 2020, Wilsby reacted to that goal being taken off the board by scoring a highlight-reel goal Dec. 17 against the New York Rangers that stuck and proved to be the smooth-skating Swede’s first NHL goal, and a much-needed insurance goal in the Predators 2-0 win in that game.
On the play, Wilsby shook Rangers forward Reilly Smith at the right point before skating to the slot and sniping a wrist shot high to the stick side of Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Wilsby celebrated the milestone marker by dropping to a knee à la former Predators defenseman P.K. Subban and skating to the corner to celebrate with his teammates.
One of those teammates on the ice was fellow Swede Filip Forsberg, who before skating into the celebration, made sure to grab the milestone puck for his teammate and countryman. Forsberg picked up a secondary assist on the play as well.
“It felt great,” Wilsby said. “With the crowd and everything, it was a great feeling.”
Blankenburg scored an important goal of his own, this one a game-winning overtime goal Dec. 21 against the Los Angeles Kings. Perhaps a surprising choice for Brunette to call upon Blankenburg in the 3-on-3 overtime, he made the most of the opportunity presented to him.
“I feel like I’ve had some good chances over the last little bit, so I’ve just continued to trust in my game,” he said after the game. “I’m just thankful for the opportunity to go out in OT and just happy that I was able to score.”
When asked what prompted him to call upon Blankenburg in overtime, Brunette indicated that at this point in a frustrating season, he was looking for something different from those who were on his bench.
“We’re trying a lot of different things, it hasn’t gone our way,” Brunette said. “He’s a really good skater, he’s very mobile and he moves the puck, he sees the ice well. As we’re gaining more and more confidence in him, we’re playing him more. We’re getting a better feel of the type of player he is and he has risen to every challenge we’ve given him.”
With the results players like Wilsby and Blankenburg and Wilsby have shown the Predators, general manager Barry Trotz felt comfortable enough to trade Carrier.
On Dec. 18, Trotz allowed the then healthy Carrier go home for the holidays by trading him to his home province Montreal Canadiens, the team he grew up rooting for. In his time as a Predator, Carrier was a consistent performer on the blue line, but with the success of Wilsby and Blankenburg, he was dealt to Montreal in exchange for fellow blueliner Justin Barron. While Barron may be seen as a project, Wilsby and Blankenburg giving the Predators quality minutes can allow him to develop at his own pace.