Ellis practiced with his teammates - as he has been doing for a few weeks now - on New Year's Day, taking part in drills paired alongside fellow d-man Roman Josi, another positive sign that a return is close.

After missing all of the 2017 portion of the current season - 38 contests to be exact - while recovering from offseason knee surgery, a return to game action for defenseman Ryan Ellis seems imminent as the Nashville Predators embark on a three-game trip to begin 2018.

Although neither Ellis, nor Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette were certain on the bearded blueliner's status for Tuesday's game in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights following the session, both parties seemed to think No. 4 could be in uniform when the puck drops.

"Today was a good day for him, a good practice," Laviolette said of Ellis. "I haven't spoken to him since practice ended, but he's right there and ready to go. So, if today was a good day, and I haven't talked to him [just yet], but we'll discuss that and talk about it for tomorrow. If he needs more time, then we'll give him more time, but he's had a lot of good days in a row."

"Today was a good practice," Ellis said. "We'll see what the coaches have to say and what they want to do with the lineup, but it's been a long road and lot of work, a lot of long days. But we'll see what the coaches have in store."

If the associate captain does indeed return to the lineup Tuesday, or at any point on this road trip, it would boost a defensive group that has already had the Predators hovering near or at the top of the Central Division for most of the season. Regarded as one of Nashville's top four rearguards, along with Josi, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm, Ellis is arguably one of the most underrated defensemen in the League, expertly skilled at both ends of the ice.

"He's been a top-flight defenseman for us," Laviolette said. "We've missed him. He plays a lot of situations and a lot of minutes, a character guy in the room and on the ice. When he does come back, we'll be happy to have him."

A player can participate in practices and morning skates all they want, but as Ellis reiterated on Monday, there is simply no other way to recreate game action than actually playing in one, a final step he's undoubtedly looking forward to taking.

"I'm sure there will be some rust," Ellis said of his eventual return. "You can't prepare for a game other than playing a game, so hopefully a couple games in, I'll try to feel back to my normal self. But I'm sure there will be some rust out there."

Ellis will gladly trade the on-ice challenge of becoming reacquainted to the lineup for the mental aspect of watching from afar, something he's had to deal with going on three months now.

"We're doing so well, which is great - everyone seems to be having fun, but to not be a part of it, it's obviously tough," Ellis said. "It's more of a mental grind than anything. That's kind of how it's been."

Now, the worst of it is almost over, and the date may not be set yet, but it's certainly close. And for Ellis and his teammates, it's a perfect start to the new year.

"He's such a huge part of our team," Josi said of Ellis. "He's a great leader in the locker room, but on the ice, too. We've definitely been missing him and can't wait for him to be back."