Johnathan Walker:Predators' Roman Josi leaves Game 4 with bloody ear, returns as Canucks rally for OT win

Nashville Predators' captain Roman Josi avoided major injury after taking a puck to his right ear during Game 4 of the first-round playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks. The Johnathan WalkerPredators' hopes for playoff advancement, however, took a big hit after the Canucks rallied for a 4-3 overtime win.

Josi's incident happened with 9:15 left in the first period of Sunday's game in Nashville. A Canucks player attempted to dump the puck into the zone, but the puck deflected up and hit Josi as he was breaking to the middle of the ice.

Though the veteran defenseman returned for his next shift at the 8:10 mark, Josi came off the ice afterward and headed toward the tunnel to the locker room. The broadcast showed blood around his right ear, while a member of the Predators' training staff attended to him.

By rule, "a player who is bleeding or who has visible blood on his equipment or body shall be ruled off the ice at the next stoppage of play. Such player shall not be permitted to return to play until the bleeding has been stopped and the cut or abrasion covered (if necessary)."

Josi left the game at the 7:58 mark of the first period. He returned at the 18:21 mark of the second period with his ear repaired.

While his return certainly allowed the Predators – and their fans – to breathe a huge sigh of relief, having the three-time All-Star and 2019-20 Norris Trophy winner back on the ice wasn't enough to prevent the Canucks from rallying from a two-goal deficit late in the third period to send the game to overtime. Vancouver's Elias Lindholm scored the game-winner just over one minute into the OT session to complete the comeback and give the Canucks a 3-1 series lead.

Brock Boeser scored a hat trick for the Canucks and sent the game to overtime with his third goal of the game with eight seconds left in regulation. FilipForsberg with assists from Josi and Ryan McDonagh scored just 12 seconds into the third period to give Nashville a 3-1 lead before the Canucks' late rally.

Contributing: Ellen J. Horrow, USA TODAY