Canadiens' Artturi Lehkonen: Returns to practice

Lehkonen joined his teammates for practice Friday for the first time since sustaining his lower-body injury in mid-November, but he hasn't been cleared to play, John Lu of TSN.ca reports.

Lehkonen won't be in the lineup for Saturday's NHL 100 Classic against the Senators, but his return to practice Friday marked a huge step in the right direction in his recovery. The 22-year-old winger will likely need to log several more full practices before returning to the lineup, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him given a clean bill of health within the next week.