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How about some pasta and eggs for breakfast?

That’s what some Canadiens players — including captain Max Pacioretty — will be eating Monday morning in Detroit before a rare weekday afternoon game against the Red Wings on the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the U.S. (3 p.m., SNE, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

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“I’ll probably have eggs and then wait a little bit and then have some pasta,” Pacioretty said after a rare Sunday practice in Brossard.

Sunday is normally a day of rest for the Canadiens, but there were a few things coach Michel Therrien wanted to work on following Saturday night’s 5-4 win over the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens postponed a scheduled 2 p.m. flight to Detroit on Sunday until 7:30 p.m. so they could fit in a full practice starting at noon that focused mainly on defensive-zone coverage and the penalty-killing unit, which ranks 24th in the NHL.

Carey Price has allowed three or more goals in seven of his last eight starts, but it’s not all on the goalie. The Canadiens have really been missing veteran defenceman Andrei Markov, who has sat out the last 13 games with a groin injury and didn’t practise again Sunday. The Canadiens called up defensive forward Jacob De La Rose from the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps on Sunday and sent down Chris Terry. Therrien said there’s a possibility De La Rose, who can kill penalties, could play against the Red Wings.

The Canadiens are coming off a stretch during which they played seven games in 12 days, including five on the road, so there hasn’t been a lot of time for a full practice. Pacioretty said Therrien spoke with him about adjusting the schedule to fit in Sunday’s practice.

“We talked about it and given that we play at 3 tomorrow and there won’t be a morning skate, we felt we should touch the ice today and especially with some injured guys coming back and not being able to practise much,” Pacioretty said. “We’ve had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. We have to make sure that we harp on playing the right way, especially in our own end.”