The Montreal Canadiens could be getting a pair of forwards back soon.
Jonathan Drouin and Mike Hoffman were both spotted wearing regular practice jerseys on Friday.
The club says they will be evaluated after Saturday’s morning skate to see if they could return at night against the Kings.
Drouin suffered an upper-body injury on Nov. 5 against the Golden Knights, but played three more games before being removed from the lineup on Nov. 15. He was expected to miss four to six weeks, so it would appear a return ahead of schedule is possible.
Hoffman was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 1 with a lower-body injury.
Drouin has just four assists in 12 games this season, while Hoffman has five goals and three assists in 16 games.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens say there is no change in status on forward Brendan Gallagher (lower-body injury), while defenceman David Savard (upper-body injury) and forward Sean Monahan (lower-body) continue to be evaluated.