from Andrew Gross of The Record,

For the fourth straight game to open the season, the Rangers will not have a morning skate today other than their extras going on the ice.

Get used to that. There’s a good chance the archaic morning skate eventually goes the way of the dodo.

"Not opposed," veteran Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said on Monday.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault hasn’t announced the formal cessation of full team morning skates. But Avalanche coach Patrick Roy did for his team last week, except for game days after the team did not practice the day before.

Once, morning skates could be used to round players back into playing shape for that day after, ahem, perhaps a late night out. But, nowadays, these hockey professionals are so attuned to fine-tuning their bodies that it’s no longer an issue.

For the uninitiated, in a typical full team morning skate, that night’s lines and defense pairs will take some rushes, some power-play work will be done with a couple of other drills thrown in to get the legs moving. The whole thing usually takes 25 minutes, maximum.

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