Canadiens forward Jake Evans out for a few days for ‘personal reasons’

Montreal Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) celebrates with teammate Mike Matheson (8) after scoring against the Boston Bruins during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Forward Jake Evans did not participate in the Montreal Canadiens’ practice on Wednesday morning at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard on the South Shore.

The Montreal club confirmed that Evans was absent for personal reasons, adding that he will not play in Thursday’s game against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

He will rejoin the team in New York, where they are scheduled to face the Rangers on Saturday.

As such, centre Owen Beck was recalled from the Laval Rocket on Tuesday evening after a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Defenceman Adam Engström and goaltender Jacob Fowler were also recalled from the Habs’ American Hockey League (AHL) farm team.

All three players participated in the Canadiens’ practice on Wednesday morning.

Habs head coach Martin St-Louis also shuffled his lines during practice, bringing Zachary Bolduc back alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Meanwhile, Juraj Slafkovsky was reunited with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.

Beck found himself centred between Josh Anderson and Alexandre Texier, and Jared Davidson, Joseph Veleno and Brendan Gallagher formed the last unit.

On the defensive side, Engström appeared to be the seventh defenceman, and the pairings remained unchanged.

The Canadiens have lost four of their last six games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 10, 2025.