Quinn Hughes practiced for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury on March 1, but the defenseman will miss his fourth straight game when the Canucks host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, SNP).
However, Hughes, who was wearing a non-contact jersey, has not ruled out against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
"I don't know about his status [for Wednesday], but it was a good day for him," Tocchet said. "He obviously did a little bit more than he has done. He looked pretty good but we didn't have contact drills and stuff like that, so it's hard to really evaluate that. But he felt really good (skating on his own) yesterday. So, we'll go from there."
Hughes was injured in a 6-3 loss at the Seattle Kraken on March 1 and has skated on his own since then, but Tuesday was his first time on the ice with the full team.
Tocchet said he would normally like to get Hughes into a practice before possibly returning, but with two sets of back-to-back games this week (also Saturday and Sunday), that may not be possible.
"It's a hard one this time of year," Tocchet said. "If it's November-December, you'd like a guy to get a practice or two, but things change sometimes. This many games left (19) you've got to change a few protocols but obviously the safety of him is obviously number one."
Hughes missed six games and was out more than three weeks with an oblique injury before and after the 4 Nations Face-Off last month, which he was unable to participate in. The game in Seattle was his third back.
Hughes 60 points (14 goals, 46 assists) in 50 games, which still leads Vancouver by 22 points and is third among NHL defensemen.
"The frustrating part for him is he wants to go all the time," Tocchet said. "I think he had a couple of really good days. He's got a smile on his face today so that's a good sign." -- Kevin Woodley
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