Montreal Canadiens will be without Jake Evans 4-6 weeks

Montreal Canadiens veteran Jake Evans will miss four to six weeks because of a lower-body injury, the team announced Saturday.

As the club returns from the NHL holiday break, it will do so without the 29-year-old forward, who exited in the first period of a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 20.

Evans, a 2014 seventh-round pick of the Canadiens, has 5 goals and 10 points in 34 games this season. Last season, shuffling onto a few different lines for coach Martin St. Louis, Evans had a career season, posting 13 goals and 36 points while averaging 15:33 time on the ice.

The Canadiens will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.