BROSSARD - Captain Max Pacioretty has noticed a trend around the League: more and more, teams are scrapping their morning skate in favor of a bit more rest. And that's an idea he can get behind.

"There's a lot of effort: you come to the rink, you have meetings, you put on your gear, you skate, you take off your gear. Then, you drive home and do what it takes to rest up and get ready," explained Pacioretty, who has suited up for 29 games this year, netting eight goals and adding as many assists in the process. "We think about hockey constantly. When you get a break from the rink and you don't have to come in and put on the gear, you're just saving energy. Even if it won't be the case for that night, I think it adds up over time. It can help you save energy throughout the year.

"I'm a big fan of the no-morning skate."

Video: Max Pacioretty on the morning skate

The morning skate means different things to different people. It can be a chance to get mentally prepared, or an opportunity to get the juices flowing, so to speak. That said, Tomas Plekanec doesn't believe that the game-day practice provides much in the way of upping one's physical fitness.

"It's more just to get your legs going and your body moving. I don't think it has as much to do with the conditioning," added Plekanec, who has participated in his fair share of morning skates since joining the League in 2002-03. "Sometimes, it's good to go, sometimes it's not. I think that more and more, we're going to see that the morning skate is going to be cut off."

The Czech centerman points out that with the way the game has been evolving, players are probably best served by saving their strength for the real deal.

"The game is so fast and you need to have energy for the game, not really in the morning. It really depends on what kind of schedule it is during the week and the month," Plekanec continued. "We have to go from there. As a player, you need to know your body, you need to know what you really need and what you need to feel the best at night."

Given their next game is on Thursday against Calgary, the Habs's on-ice session on Wednesday was a regular practice and not a morning skate, although neither Shea Weber nor Jonathan Drouin were present. Weber took a therapy day, and Drouin is fighting off an illness, although head coach Claude Julien is hopeful he'll be back to face the Flames.

"I think so, yes. We hope so because our goal was for him to play tomorrow," Julien said of the 22-year old, who's been out with a lower-body injury and last played on November 29 against Ottawa. "Now, it's a question mark because he's sick. We'll have to see how he is tomorrow."

Video: Claude Julien's press conference

Among others, Julien made sure that Andrew Shaw spent some time perfecting his skills on the draw at the Bell Sports Complex on Wednesday. With both of Shea Weber's goals in the previous night's tilt against St. Louis coming off faceoff wins by Shaw, it's no surprise the Canadiens want to make sure he's as sharp as can be in the dot.

"We use him a lot. He takes them more than Phil [Danault] when it's on his good side. They share the responsibility," outlined the Habs bench boss. "We send him out on the power play to take those faceoffs, he's always been good on his strong side. We've been taking advantage of that this season."

Video: Andrew Shaw on working on his faceoff skills

A seven-year veteran of the League, Shaw points out that the experience is nothing new to him and he's happy to step in when the circumstances warrant it.

"I've played center for a few years in the NHL. After, when I was playing wing I always played with a left-handed centerman. I would always take my strong-side faceoffs just so we have a better chance of winning it," described Shaw, whose 55.48% efficiency off the draw is tops on the team among those having taken 100 or more faceoffs this season. "If you're winning on your backhand, it's a lot easier than on your forehand. I played with [Marcus] Kruger in Chicago a lot and he was left-handed. Every time I was on the right dot, I would take them and if it was on the left side, he would take them. We got into that rhythm and I came here and said the same thing: 'I'll take strong-side [draws].' I did it with Davey [David Desharnais] last year and getting matched up with Phil, I said I'd take strong-side as well."