Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov has suffered no setbacks with his lower-body injury and remains on pace to return in the two-to-four-week window he was originally assessed, general manager Kent Hughes said on Thursday.
Hughes added that Demidov and the team hoped that the 6-foot-1 Russian would return shortly after two weeks but his injury made it hard to give an exact timeline.
Demidov was battling a foot injury during the pre-season and was only able to appear in two regular-season games, recording a goal and two points, before having to go on injured reserve.
The 20-year-old winger skated twice this week, according to Hughes, which indicates that things are progressing.
Hughes also explained that the team will not give updates on players’ injuries unless a player had a setback, is expected to miss significantly more time than expected, or sustained another injury in their recovery.
Demidov starred for the Canadiens last season, recording 19 goals and 62 points in 82 games during his rookie campaign. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting to New York Islanders blueliner Matthew Schaefer.
He helped the Canadiens to a 48-24-10 record to finish third in the Atlantic Division last season and added three goals and nine points in 19 playoff games before his team was eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Without Demidov for most of this season, the Canadiens sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 10-3-3 record entering Friday’s action and are two points behind the Boston Bruins for first place.
The Canadiens take on their forever rival Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday before returning home Tuesday to battle the Minnesota Wild.