Nick Suzuki was back on the ice Tuesday morning in Brossard, this time in full gear, and the Montreal Canadiens couldn't ask for a better sign.
Patrick Guillet reported the update from the practice rink. The skate didn't come with a return date attached.
The club announced on October 22 that Suzuki would miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.
Eric Engels said Monday that the captain shouldn't be out too long.
Full gear is like a restaurant flipping the lights on while the closed sign is still up. Nobody's being served yet, but the kitchen is warming up.
He left Winnipeg after the Heritage Classic to treat the injury in Montreal and didn't join the team for the rest of the trip.
So how soon is soon?
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Nick Suzuki skates in full gear as Canadiens await a return date
The 27-year-old has 12 points through 9 games.
Five of those are goals, and he's sitting at +6.
He'd also put up 5 points over his last 5 appearances.
Montreal has won both games without him, beating Chicago 4-1 on Friday and Winnipeg 2-1 on Sunday.
Don't read too much into that. Anyone suggesting this team is fine without its captain is kidding themselves.
Cole Caufield has stepped up, with 6 points over his last 5 games.
Lane Hutson, 22, has added 10 points from the back end.
Jacob Fowler has been the steadier option in net, posting a .924 save percentage and a shutout.
Jakub Dobes, by comparison, sits at .847.
Ivan Demidov and Samuel Montembeault are both on IR until at least October 31.
At 6-3-2, the Canadiens sit fifth in a tight Atlantic, five points behind Boston.
Jim Montgomery's Blues host them tonight after getting blanked 4-0 by Carolina on Saturday.
Then it's Dallas on Thursday, where Glen Gulutzan's Stars carry a five-game winning streak.
The trip ends there. Whether Suzuki is back for Saturday's home date with Pittsburgh is the next question, and Tuesday's skate just made it a fair one to ask.
Should the Canadiens bring Nick Suzuki back ahead of the original timeline?
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