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SUNRISE, Fla. — The Canadiens hit the ice for their morning skate Monday at the BB&T Center just before 11:30 a.m.

As the players skated circles around the rink to warm up for Monday night’s game against the Florida Panthers, firing random pucks into the nets at both ends, captain Max Pacioretty was standing near one of the blue lines talking with associate coach Kirk Muller.

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They talked … and talked … and talked for more than five minutes before head coach Claude Julien whistled for the opening drills to begin.

What were they talking about?

“We always talk, whether it’s on the ice or not,” Pacioretty said afterward. “Always talking about our line, our team, what we can do to get better.”

Pacioretty has one of the toughest and most scrutinized jobs in the NHL as captain of the Canadiens, skating with giant shadows of players like Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Jean Béliveau, Serge Savard and Bob Gainey following him. But those Hall of Famers all played before social media came along and no captain in Canadiens history has been more scrutinized than Pacioretty during his first two seasons wearing the “C”.