"We think he is physically ready but is he ready, I guess, condition-wise to go in (Thursday) night or do we have to wait a couple more days?" Montgomery said. "We'll have to see how he feels after he gets off the ice because we are going to push him after regular practice."
Defenseman Stephen Johns, who has yet to play this season due to post-traumatic headaches, practiced again Wednesday. Montgomery said Tuesday that Johns is targeting Sunday's game in Detroit for a return. The Stars are hopeful, but time will tell.
"It was more him talking about playing on Sunday. I haven't held out any expectation. It's something I wouldn't know what to expect. And the training staff is the same way," Montgomery said Wednesday. "We're just trying to be patient. He's having ringing in the ears, and the team doctors are mystified where it is generating from. He doesn't have the headaches right now. That's the real positive."
Montgomery said there is still the question of how Johns would react to a game environment and pointed to an incident in Wednesday's practice.
"The intensity of the game, the lights, the music -- all those things," Montgomery said. "Today, he said there was a shot off the crossbar, he was standing at the red line, and the ping of the crossbar hurt his ears. He is going through things that are hard for me to understand because I've never experienced it. You could see the wincing and the grimace on his face when it happened."
If Johns were available to play Sunday, Montgomery said he could go with seven defensemen as insurance with Johns returning from the injury.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.
