"On Saturday, after a 3-0 home-ice loss to Minnesota, Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau said his players skated through their final exhibition game as though they were trying to avoid injuries.

Too bad they didn't do the same yesterday in practice.

Defenceman Ryan O'Byrne and goalie Jaroslav Halak were bloodied during a 90-minute workout in Verdun, O'Byrne by a puck, Halak by a stick.

Neither was seriously hurt, though O'Byrne went to hospital for stitches and evaluation after being struck beneath the visor by a Maxim Lapierre shot that ricocheted up his own stick shaft.

Halak was accidentally cut on the right cheek when jabbed through bars of his mask by the blade of Robert Lang. The goalie returned to the ice after brief rinkside treatment.

Between the bloodshed, the Canadiens' first post-exhibition practice gave Carbonneau and his assistants their first chance to put almost the "real" team through some offensive-, defensive- and neutral-zone drills, headed toward the season opener Friday in Buffalo.

Carbonneau called this week's practices "a refresher, to get back in the memory what we used to do. We need to get the three players not here last year (Alex Tanguay, Georges Laraque and Lang) on board, at the same pace as the other guys."

Laraque, fellow forward Christopher Higgins and defenceman Mike Komisarek and Francis Bouillon did not skate in Verdun, though Carbonneau said the absence of Higgins and Komisarek was purely for preventive-treatment measures.

Laraque was "not able to skate," the coach said of his groin-ailing forward, who has yet to take part in a practice this preseason. "We'll see how he reacts (today)."

While Laraque maintained late last week in Mont Tremblant that he'll be ready for Friday's opener, Carbonneau said he would not be used "if I feel he's not in (good) enough shape to start."

Bouillon will not play Friday, his return from injury not yet announced.

Defenceman Alex Henry, placed on waivers Sunday, skated yesterday, permitted to do so as he continues to rehabilitate his back.

Taking Higgins's place for the drills was Kyle Chipchura, who will begin the season in Montreal with Laraque and Bouillon laid up. He remains with the Canadiens with the tepid support of Carbonneau, who said "he's here, I can't say much more."