Jake Evans could be available to the Montreal Canadiens at some point during the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Semifinal against the Vegas Golden Knights, which begins at Vegas on Monday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
The forward sustained a concussion when he was checked by Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Second Round on June 2. Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said Saturday Evans has increased the intensity of his workouts in the gym and on ice the past few days, but that Montreal will err on the side of caution when it comes to the health of the 25-year-old.
"Yesterday was a bit shorter, today was a bit longer," Ducharme said of Evans' solo skates. "He's got a couple of steps to go but he's heading in the right direction.
"It could be any time here, within three or four days, maybe. But again, with these types of injuries, you never know. You can have setbacks any time. So we're not taking anything for granted."
Evans was injured with 57 seconds remaining in a 5-3 win against the Jets when he was hit by Scheifele after wrapping the puck into an empty net and subsequently was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Evans did not go to the hospital and was evaluated by Canadiens doctors at their Winnipeg hotel overnight.
Scheifele was assessed a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct, and received a four-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety the following day. Evans showed improvement within 24 hours of the incident and has been working toward a return.
"The most important thing is for him to be at 100 percent," Ducharme said. "For right now and for the future, making sure he gets back at 100 percent is a priority. So if we need to take a couple of days more we'll make sure that we're really, really sure 100 percent is fine."
Evans and defensemen Jeff Petry (hand) and Jon Merrill (lower body) were expected to travel with the Canadiens to Las Vegas. Ducharme said Friday he was "not very confident" any of the three would be available for Game 1 but added each is getting closer to coming back.
Petry left the ice in the second period of Montreal's 5-1 victory against the Jets in Game 3 on June 6 and did not return after his right pinky finger appeared to get wedged in a camera hole in the glass at Bell Centre.
Merrill has not played for the Canadiens since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup First Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 27.
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