Canadiens' Cedric Paquette could be back as early as Wednesday

The Montreal Canadiens came back with a drastically stronger effort on Saturday night, winning 6-3 against the Nashville Predators for just their fifth victory of the season. They should also be getting some reinforcements in the coming days and weeks, as several updates were given on injured players on Monday.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters including Eric Engels of Sportsnet that Cedric Paquette could be back as early as Wednesday, while Mike Hoffman and Mathieu Perreault skated on Monday. Hoffman is out for at least another week, while Perreault’s vision is not back fully yet, but there is optimism he will be okay following his second procedure. Joel Edmundson and Jake Allen were both on the ice Monday as well, although the former isn’t expected to play just yet and an update on the latter won’t come until Tuesday.

• While much of the focus Monday was on the news that Kevin Hayes re-injured himself and is out week-to-week, there were some other updates out of the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Wade Allison has resumed skating and has been cleared for practice with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Tyson Foerster could miss five months with a shoulder injury. Foerster, a 2020 first-round pick, is one of the handful of junior-aged players who secured an exemption to play in the AHL this season because of their games in 2020-21.
• Some concern was raised Monday when a report emerged about Mike Smith’s status, but both Jason Gregor and Ryan Rishaug of TSN tweet that as of now, surgery is not the plan for the Edmonton Oilers goaltender. Rishaug adds that the expectation is still that Smith will return at some point in December. Smith hasn’t played since Oct. 19, but Stuart Skinner has more than made up for his absence with a .939 save percentage in five appearances.