Predators' Shea Weber set to return, Rinne slated for MRI

When last we heard a status on Nashville defenseman Shea Weber, the Predators' leading point scorer was restless and considering wearing a helmet visor for the first time in his NHL career when he was able to return to the ice following taking a puck to the face late last week.

"He’s just bored, sitting there and staring at the TV and sleeping in a recliner, that’s pretty well it..” - Predators' coach Barry Trotz

He's had plenty of time to mull over his self-perception regarding the visor while recovering from the eye injury suffered from the rouge puck and is expected to return to practice on Friday - and the team announced on Thursday that the gritty veteran blue liner will indeed sport the visor to protect the eye.

Meanwhile, netminder Pekka Rinne's nightmare of a season may be about to get a little less scary.

The Nashville Tennessean is reporting that the Finnish goalie will have the long delayed MRI on his hip on Thursday that will tell them if the E. Coli infection in the joint has been eradicated by the antibiotics regimen he's been on since October.

Rinne's prognosis was that he was to be out until late December.  Results of the MRI will be one of the determining factors in that time table.

Also of note, defenseman Kevin Klein returned to active roster on Thursday night and logged nearly 19 minutes of ice time in Nashville's 5-2 loss to Carolina.  Despite the loss, Klein's return far ahead of what was originally thought to be mid-December due to an upper-body injury is a boon for the struggling club.

http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/2013/12/predators-shea-weber-set-to-return.html