Predators' O'Reilly week-to-week with lower-body injury

The Nashville Predators will be without their top center for the immediate future, as Ryan O'Reilly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced Thursday.

It's unclear when O'Reilly got hurt, though he was limited to 16:50 in Nashville's last game Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his third-lowest total of the season.

O'Reilly leads all Predators forwards in average time on ice (19:30) and ranks third on the team with 14 points in 26 games this season.

Nashville was already thin down the middle of the ice, with general manager Barry Trotz stating in October that he was looking to add a center. Tommy Novak, Colton Sissons, Fedor Svechkov, and Mark Jankowski are among the team's other options. The club could move Steven Stamkos back to center, though he's primarily been a winger in recent years.

The Predators also activated forward Michael McCarron from injured reserve and placed defenseman Jeremy Lauzon on IR.