No guarantee, of course, but Nathan MacKinnon could return to the Avalanche lineup as early as Sunday against Edmonton at the Pepsi Center.
The star center took part in an optional practice Thursday while wearing a regular jersey rather than the non-contact sweater he wore in previous practices this week. MacKinnon wasn't made available to the media and he didn't travel to Winnipeg for Friday's game but is expected to practice Saturday after the Avalanche arrive home.
"He's working his way back to the lineup," coach Jared Bednar said. "He's questionable for Sunday; we'll know more on Saturday. He's not making the trip to Winnipeg."
MacKinnon, who has 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) in 49 games, has missed seven games since sustaining an upper-body injury Jan. 30 in a collision with Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler.
The Avalanche (31-21-4) have gone 4-3-0 without MacKinnon and were two points behind Minnesota for the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference before the Wild played Thursday night against Washington.
"Can't wait to get him back," Bednar said. "We need him, he's getting close, I think." MacKinnon was second among NHL scorers at the time he left the lineup.
"He's one of the best players in the game, especially this year," Bednar said. "I mean, you look at what he's done for our team. It's a big hole and we've missed him. We've managed to tread water here and carve out some points without him. "Certainly adding him back into our lineup changes things significantly for us, so we're looking forward to when that day comes."
Bednar is using rookie Alexander Kerfoot on the top line in MacKinnon's absence with left wing Gabriel Landeskog; he moved right wing Mikko Rantanen to a unit with Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher in an attempt to create more balance, promoting Colin Wilson to the top line.
Right wing Blake Comeau, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, also practiced Thursday and is expected to play Friday. "It looks like he is ready to go," Bednar said.
Comeau would skate with usual linemates Matt Nieto and Carl Soderberg.
Jonathan Bernier will start in goal against the Jets. Semyon Varlamov, who had 44 saves Wednesday in the Avalanche's 2-0 win against Montreal, will start Sunday against the Oilers.
Here is my NHL.COM game story from Wednesday when the Avalanche blanked the Canadiens to match the franchise record with their 10th consecutive home win.