BROSSARD, Que. — Jonathan Drouin was supposed to be back in his regular spot at Montreal Canadiens practice after missing their last three games with a lower-body injury but was held out due to a virus.
After scoring a goal on a penalty shot in a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators last Wednesday, Drouin was unable to travel with the Canadiens to Detroit for what turned out to be a 6-3 win over the Red Wings Thursday.
Drouin skated on his own Monday, missed a scheduled skating session Tuesday with the virus, and Canadiens coach Claude Julien said before Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues that he expected Drouin would return to practice Wednesday.
In 25 games this season, the St. Agathe, Que., native has five goals and 17 points.
Wednesday morning also marked the first time forward Artturi Lehkonen skated on his own since playing 18:52 in a 2-1 overtime win for the Canadiens over the Buffalo Sabres.
Lehkonen had played several weeks with a nagging lower-body injury according to Julien. He scored two goals and added three assists in the first 18 games of the season before missing the last 11 with the injury.
Defenceman Shea Weber, who scored his 500th career point on Tuesday, missed practice to take a therapy day.
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