Canadian Press

5/2/2006 2:18:38 PM

MONTREAL (CP) - Saku Koivu's injured left eye is improving but there is no word on when the Montreal Canadiens captain will be ready to play.

Coach and general manager Bob Gainey said Tuesday that Koivu was visiting doctors daily for tests on the eye, which was clipped by a high stick from Justin Williams in Game 3 of their playoff series against Carolina.

"The information is that he was improving, that his vision was clearing up," said Gainey. "Blood was dispersing, but there were still parts inside his eye that the doctors could not see and that still needed time."

Koivu was to miss a third straight game Tuesday night.

Gainey said he cannot predict when Koivu will be able to resume playing.

"But I like the fact that he's getting vision back," Gainey said. "It looks like it's going in the right direction. It hasn't stymied or stopped. The progress is positive."

Koivu spent an eventful two nights at Montreal General Hospital after the high stick, which included what the team said was an unwelcome visit by a reporter and photographer from Le Journal de Montreal.

A team spokesman said players and management were upset that the journalists eluded hospital security to get a picture and short interview with Koivu.

A picture of Koivu with his swollen and stitched left eye closed shut appeared on the newspaper's front page on April 28. Koivu appears to be trying to shield his eye from the camera with his hand in the photo.

Koivu visited his teammates at the Bell Centre on Monday but did not meet with the media. 

-- Edited by JohnM at 16:38, 2006-05-02

I just heard on a Toronto website that our Captain will be a game time decision.  I don't expect to see him tonight, I am hoping Kovalev plays. 

He seems to be looking good.  But the eye is only half open.  He is also staying out of bright lights for now.