Lang and Markov on the ice

Robert Lang and Andrei Markov jumped on the ice in Brossard just after 11 a.m., an hour before their teammates are scheduled to practice.

Both are doing drills with strength and conditioning co-ordinator Scott Livingston, and I'd say they're going somewhere in the range of 50-60 per cent. Lang has both ankles taped, which he usually doesn't do, and the two of them are going into turns with some trepidation.

I would imagine having them on the ice alone means there's been little improvement in either case, and I have troubnle understanding why either of them would be asked to play Wednesday night.

I know a team can't think they're out of it until they are actually eliminated, but Bob Gainey does have a responsibility as GM not to jeopardize the future by playing Markov in the face of a near impossible situation.

Neither Alex Tanguay nor Mathieu Schneider are out there, so we'll see if they practice with their teammates at noon, just like they did Monday for the game-day skate before suddenly being ruled out for that pivotal Game 3 matchup.