Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson will miss his eighth consecutive game because of an upper-body injury when his team faces the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
If all goes according to plan, he'll return shortly after Christmas.
Canucks coach Adam Foote said Monday that there is hope Pettersson could return Dec. 27 against the San Jose Sharks or Dec. 29 versus the Seattle Krakan.
"I think he's close," Foote said.
Foote added Pettersson "tweaked or jammed" the injury in recent days.
When Pettersson does return, it will mark his 500th career NHL game.
The Swede has eight goals and 14 assists in 28 games this season.
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