Shea Weber returns to practice; Romanov, Kotkaniemi, Caufield ruled out of Game 1

Montreal Canadiens captain Shea Weber skated with the team at practice for the first time since he sat out with an upper-body injury.

Weber has not played since April 28, when the Canadiens lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. He had been skating on his own prior to Tuesday’s practice.

The team’s practice started with power play drills, and Weber was on the ice as were Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield, who have been skating as the extras along with Michael Frolik. If they are in the lineup, they would likely be on the second power play unit.

Notably, there was no Eric Staal at power play practice.

The regular lines did not change at practice.

On defence, Weber’s return meant he skated with Jon Merrill. Xavier Ouellet also returned to NHL practice.

Update: Dominique Ducharme has announced that Cole Caufield, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Alexander Romanov will not play in game one against the Maple Leafs. That means that Weber, Merrill, Corey Perry, and Eric Staal will play the playoff opener.

The team will practice again on Wednesday before leaving for Toronto. Game 1 of the series will be on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.