http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/shownews.jsp?content=h120631A

MONTREAL (CP) - There were five veterans missing when the Montreal Canadiens returned to practice Tuesday after two days of much-needed rest.

Captain Saku Koivu, winger Alex Kovalev, centre Radek Bonk, defenceman Sheldon Souray and goaltender Jose Theodore were off treating various degrees of injury as the rest of the team skated for the first time since Saturday night's 3-2 victory over Los Angeles.

Had there been a game that night, three or four of them may have played, but a quirk in the NHL schedule has given the Canadiens the luxury of a full week off just as injuries were starting to mount.

They won't play again until a home game Saturday night against Anaheim.

"You can't ask for better timing than that," centre Mike Ribeiro said. "There's a lot of groin injuries and it's big names, big players on our team.

"It's a great week for us to regroup, go over some system stuff and get ready for Saturday."

Koivu, who missed two games with a pulled groin before the break, skated on his own before practice and is expected back on the ice on Wednesday.

Theodore and Souray, both with sore groins, went for physiotherapy and are also expected back Wednesday, while the extent of Bonk's nagging groin trouble is still being determined.

Kovalev has missed the last nine games after undergoing knee surgery and is only due to resume skating on his own some time this week, with a return to play still weeks away.

The Canadiens also had two defencemen back who had missed the last three games - Andrei Markov, who has completed serving a three-game suspension for shoving an official; and Mike Komisarek, who was at home on Long Island last week grieving the death of his mother from cancer of the pancreas.

The Canadiens were a hurting, run-down team before the break.

After starting the season 12-3-1, they went 3-4-4 in their next 11 games, in which they averaged only 2.36 goals per game.

Coach Claude Julien wants the team well-rested when play resumes with another 29 games in 64 days leading into the 15-day Olympic break in February. They will be off skates again on Thursday, when the team makes its annual visit to two local children's hospitals.

But Julien will also use the week to work on aspects of the game that had been lagging of late.

"Today, it was defensive zone coverage and (Wednesday), it's special teams and the transition game," he said. "Then we'll try to get the offence going.

"But we don't want to do too much skating because we're still trying to give players a rest. We're working into the week slowly. Hopefully, by Saturday, we'll have a nearly full roster and the guys will be rested and healed."

Because of the Olympic break, all teams are dealing with too many games, too close together. An added strain is that with the crackdown on obstruction fouls, the game is faster than ever and that has led to a plague of groin injuries.

This week's NHL injury report lists 24 players out with groin injuries around the league.

"It's a faster game with a lot of travel and back-to-back games," said Ribeiro. "We're playing every second day."

Centre Steve Begin said groin injuries stem from the quick stops and starts in the new NHL.

"You've got to keep moving because if you stop, you're dead," he said. "It's quicker than it used to be and I think that's why so many players have groin pulls.

"If you're not skating, you have to start quickly and that's where you pull your groin."

Julien said he will look at changing the club's practice routine, perhaps allowing more time for rest through things like occasionally letting them stay home from the traditional skate on the morning of a game.