The Dallas Stars suffered a disappointing 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, but the team received some better news on Wednesday.

Jake Oettinger, who hasn't played since getting injured against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 16, has been upgraded from week-to-week to day-to-day.

“Pete DeBoer said today that Jake Oettinger has moved past ‘week-to-week' designation, now ‘day-to-day,'” reported The Athletic's Saad Yousuf on Wednesday. “He was on the ice today for Stars' [heavily] optional practice.”

That is certainly excellent news in Texas, and it seems like Oettinger could be back before the end of the week.

“Lot of progress. He’s been on the ice regularly, doing a little bit more every day. Real positive stuff,” head coach Pete DeBoer confirmed.

Oettinger appeared to make an awkward save on Sens forward Claude Giroux back in mid-December, before skating to the tunnel and not returning. He surrendered two goals against before that; one to Travis Hamonic 76 seconds in, and another to Drake Batherson less than two minutes later.

Scott Wedgewood stopped 25-of-27 shots in relief, helping Dallas erase a 4-2 deficit to win 5-4.

Scott Wedgewood has been excellent in relief

“It’s just a tough situation,” Wedgewood said after the game, confirming he thought Oettinger was coming to the bench for an equipment adjustment, not an ailment. “That’s what they pay me for, I guess.”

In Oettinger's absence, Wedgewood has stepped up in a huge way to help keep the Stars competitive at the top of the Central Division.

The veteran goaltender has been between the pipes for every game since Oettinger went down, and has won six of them. He had been lights out until the Habs scored four goals against him on Tuesday, but helped the team finish 2023 as strong as possible without their starting goalie.

Now 22-10-4, the Stars remain in the hunt for the top spot in the division, and the battle continues with the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets.

Dallas will be back in action against those same division-leading Avalanche at home on Thursday night, and could have Jake Oettinger back on Saturday against the Nashville Predators.