The Canadiens winger, who has two goals and four assists in eight games this year, has ligament damage in his wrist that won't require surgery but will keep him out in the short term, according to The Gazette in Montreal.
However, Pacioretty surprisingly appeared on the ice at the team's morning skate on Wednesday and is reportedly a game-time decision for Wednesday's game against Philadelphia, according to CJAD.com. The site said that Pacioretty did not take his turn on line rushes, indicating he likely won't play Wednesday but suggesting he could be ready Thursday.
Head coach Jacques Martin is expected to address Pacioretty's situation later on Wednesday, which should help clear up the situation.
Pacioretty potentially missing time would be particularly newsworthy, of course, because the Canadiens visit the Bruins on Thursday evening, in what would have been Pacioretty's first game against Boston since Zdeno Chara ended his season last year with a hit that inspired police investigations, airline sponsorship withdrawal threats and general chaos in Montreal.
Ultimately, Chara was not disciplined by the NHL for his hit, and the Bruins won their only remaining regular-season meeting 7-0 and later eliminated the Habs in overtime of Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs.
During that series, Pacioretty added to the running storyline by tweeting an insult about Brad Marchand's nose.
Since then, anything involving the words "Pacioretty" and "Bruins" has generated significant discussion, but it appears as though Thursday night's hockey game will not.
