BROSSARD, Que. - The days without a game were dragging on, so the Montreal Canadiens decided they needed an intrasquad game to get the competitive juices flowing. The Canadiens had a mock game day on Monday, complete with a morning skate at their practice facility. They were scheduled to play a simulated game in the evening against mostly call-ups from the AHLs Hamilton Bulldogs at the Bell Centre. The team has been off since completing a sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL playoffs on April 22. They are not expected to begin the second round against the rival Boston Bruins until Thursday or Friday, which would make for a break of nine or 10 days between playoff games. The Canadiens hope the intrasquad game will help keep the rust off. Rugged winger Brandon Prust said they would play at a good pace while being mindful of avoiding injuries. "Its a question of being smart," Prust said. "We want to skate hard and be hard on the puck and be physical. "Its a game-like situation, but no ones going to be running around trying to kill people. At the same time, youre blocking shots and guys are shooting the puck hard and youre battling for pucks. Its going to be good for us." The game was to be closed to the public and media. Coach Michel Therrien also gave his players a day off on Tuesday. The Canadiens were off the first two days after the sweep but resumed practising on Friday. Buy Air Max Australia . Dumont, a fifth round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2009, has four assists and 20 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Bulldogs this season. The 23-year-old split last season between Hamilton and Montreal, recording 16 goals and 15 assists in 55 regular season games with the Bulldogs. Nike Air Max 95 Australia Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.outletairmaxaustralia.com/. While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg. Nike Air Max 98 Australia .C. - The housecleaning continues for the B. Air Max 270 React Sale .ca! Hi Kerry, The recent issues in the Boston-Pittsburgh game have highlighted a number of officiating, game control, and player sportsmanship aspects.When speaking with Mauro Biello shortly after the clubs 1-1 tie in Philadelphia on March 29, the Impact assistant looked at the result as a point gained and not a case of another two lost. The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. With confidence and belief at the lowest of ebbs with barely five minutes on the board the Impact could not have asked for the better start as Felipe threaded the ball perfectly into the space Romero was running into. You could almost feel the relief on the Impact bench as Romero intricately placed his shot just inside the far post. Dominating the possession early on and carving out opportunity seemingly with ease - this was a Red Bulls team that was certainly there for the taking. However, come the final whistle, the post-match discussion yet again was dominated by the Impacts inability to defend effectively. It is the basic and elementary aspects of the craft which have been their unravelling. We saw glimpses of this through the pre-season and alarmingly the trend has been allowed to continue as the season has progressed. How much longer the team can afford to set themselves up in a loose fitting 4-2-3-1 system remains to be seen. Saturday afternoon at Olympic Stadium, and just like 2012s maiden MLS season, the Impact will go into a sixth match of the season still in search of their first victory of the season. With this as the backdrop a match against the Chicago Fire could not have come at a worse time for Frank Klopas as his old club come into Montreal in search of its initial victory this term too. His successor at the Fire - Frank Yallop - spoke in glowing terms during the week about the man he replaced. "I know Frank well, playing against him, coaching against him and socially. Hes a good guy." Klopass Chicago football roots go all the way back to 1983 when he played with the NASLs Chicago Sting. It was during this time Klopas got to visit, and play in Montreal. A city he continued to visit through intervening years during Christmas shopping trips with his wife. Familiarity with Montreal also extends itself through Fire ownership. Club president Andrew Hauptman is married to Charles Bronfmans daughter Ellen. The original Expos owneer was special guest of honour at Olympic Stadium when the Impact played the Fire in front of close to 59,000 during the clubs home debut in MLS back on Mar.dddddddddddd. 17, 2012. With the Impact buoyed McInerneys paperwork has now been sorted out the Fire counter this with news Mike Magee has signed a new deal. Reports yesterday indicated that the league MVP and Golden Boot recipient native had doubled his salary. News coming on the very same day the MLS Players Union released 2014 salary figures. Magee missed the two opening games of the season due to a hamstring recurrence. But just like Marco Di Vaio before him, opened his 2014 account against the Philadelphia Union when the 29-year old Chicago native opened the scoring in last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Toyota Park. Impact players and coaches this week appeared to sound a collective sigh of relief now McInerey had joined their ranks. Di Vaio going as far to say he had the soccer goods that would not look out of order in Europe. Klopas didnt hesitate when asked if the two could play together. Lets see, and in what context. Someone likely missing from the starting XI will be Hernan Bernadello - who was substituted late on against the Red Bulls after landing awkwardly. The 27-year old made his club debut against the Fire last August but due to an ankle injury only managed to feature in eight matches in 2013. Bernier who didnt look at all out of sorts when he came on to replace the DP likely could be inserted into tomorrows line up. The club captain played and scored during the Impacts reserve team outing at Olympic Stadium last Sunday. Tomorrow at Olympic Stadium the Impact go into the match on the back of a solitary victory in their last 13 league matches. Patience will be worn mighty thin though if come 6pm Saturday that number extends itself to 14. It would most certainly sour the planned chance for the two Franks to share a post-game bottle of wine. Ominously on the two previous occasions, the Chicago Fire has played against a former coach they have come out on the winning side each time. Both wins secured on the road. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Montreal Impact vs. Chicago Fire live on TSN Radio 690 [TSN690.ca] Saturday. Kick Off at 4pm - Rick Moffat [@RickMoffat] and Grant Needham [@GrantNeedham] with your call. ' ' '