Jordin Tootoo News

LOS ANGELES - No one has to tell the Predators about the significance of injuries in the NHL these days.

Francis Boullion, Cody Franson and Joel Ward scored to lead the Nashville Predators to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL on Saturday.

The Anaheim Ducks lead the Predators 1-0 after the first period. The Ducks scored with 4:28 left in the opening period, just after a five-on-three advantage had expired.

Injuries are a way of life in hockey, and every team copes with them during the course of a season.

Just when the Predators appeared to be healthy, the injury bug flashed its fangs again Monday.

The Predators received some good news and bad news on the injury front on Monday.

Just like any rookie, Predators center Colin Wilson is likely to go through ups and downs during his adjustment process to the NHL.

Francis Bouillon is the first to admit he's never going to be mistaken for Chris Pronger, the Philadelphia Flyers' 6-foot-6 star defenseman.

Ott returns from a two-game suspension and will probably be high on energy. Bouillon, nicknamed "The Cube" for his 5-10, 198-pound frame, has been a surprising hitting force on the back end for Nashville.

There were times last season when defenseman Greg Zanon resembled a human bruise, times when he would walk through the Nashville locker room after games with three or four ice bags wrapped around injured limbs.

Preview: Both of these slow-starting teams are desperate for a victory. The Predators are last in the Central Division at 3-6-1, with six losses and an overtime loss in their past eight games.

The offensive struggles of three of the Predators' more prominent players continued in Saturday's 2-0 loss to Chicago.

PREDATORS AT OTTAWA SENATORS When. 6:30 p.m. TV/radio. Fox SN/104.5-FM. Season series.

Shea Weber and Ryan Suter said they didn't feel it until after the game. Nashville's top two defensemen knew they had played a bunch of minutes on Saturday at Washington.

Season series. First game; Predators won last season's series 3-1. Oiler to watch.

Predators prospect Colin Wilson appears close to making his NHL debut, thanks in part to a relatively new sports medical procedure.

Jeff Deslauriers is going to get his first start in net - " and it will be in a building where the Edmonton Oilers haven't won since Oct.

If Predators Coach Barry Trotz knows who will start in goal Thursday, he's not telling.

Forward Joel Ward will play his first game of the season tonight when the Predators take on Buffalo.

Taylor Beck carries the puck into the Niagara IceDogs zone, with Niagara defenceman Matt Petgrave chasing him, during the Guelph Storm's visit to St.