MONTREAL - Roman Hamrlik has seen more ice time than he did Thursday against the Boston Bruins. But you'd have to go back more than two seasons, when he was on the blue line of the Calgary Flames, to find it.

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Montreal Canadiens defenceman Roman Hamrlik does drills during team practice in Brossard near Montreal, Wednesday September 23 2009.

Photograph by : Montreal Gazette

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For a variety of reasons, not the least of which are the injuries to Andrei Markov, Ryan O'Byrne and Hal Gill, Hamrlik has become the workhorse of the Canadiens' defence corps.

He can expect to see plenty of ice Saturday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning, with whom he broke into the NHL at age 18 in 1992-93, pays a visit to the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, CJAD Radio-800).

Hamrlik played a game-high 29:44 in the Canadiens' 2-1 shootout victory Thursday over the Bruins, the most he's worked in 173 games wearing a Montreal jersey.

The last time a team squeezed this much out of Hamrlik was April 22, 2007, when he took 52 shifts totalling 36:48 in a double-overtime Flames loss to Detroit.

"I'm not used to playing 29 minutes a game, but I felt good out there," the 35-year-old said following Brossard practice Friday. "We miss Andrei, but whoever's out there has to do the job."

Hamrlik, who was bedridden with a throat virus for nearly a week of training camp, had durable company in Boston. Paul Mara played a yeoman 26:16 and even Jaroslav Spacek, who left the ice for a time in the second period after slamming hard into the boards following a dive to block a Bruins pass, logged 24:45.

"Roman has a good understanding of the game, a good professionalism," head coach Jacques Martin said of the veteran who is 28 NHL games shy of 1,200. "Even though he was sick during camp, he reported in top shape and I think that's helping him."

With Spacek's temporary, nailbiting exit, and with three major cogs out of his defence gears, Martin had to juggle his rearguards Thursday.

Hamrlik and Spacek have pleased their boss with their 5-on-5 play, usually deployed against the opposition's top line. But with Gill being added to the clinic this week, both are also being used with Marc-Andre Bergeron and Mathieu Carle.

Spacek practised Friday and will be in uniform Saturday night. To add some depth, the Canadiens Friday picked up 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenceman Jay Leach off re-entry waivers from the New Jersey Devils.

Leach, 30, has 28 games of NHL experience, 24 with the Devils and two each with Tampa Bay and Boston.

Martin seems ready to give another look to Hamilton callups Ryan White and Tom Pyatt, who both did well Thursday. This likely leaves Kyle Chipchura and Gregory Stewart, who practised Friday as a seventh defenceman, on the press gallery for the second straight game.

"I like the character of the two," Martin said of Chipchura and Stewart. "But when we look at the statistics, I believe (White and Pyatt) can help us more.

"They brought a level of emotion to (Thursday's) game, (showing) intensity and an ability to finish checks and play within the system. They performed very well. ... It's one game at a time."

Andrei Kostitsyn practised on a loosely assembled top line with Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri. That's unlikely to be the lineup Saturday night, with Brian Gionta having taken a day off practice for therapy.

The Lightning won't have defenceman Victor Hedman in uniform. The NHL's second overall draft pick last June, Hedman was concussed by a check from the Senators' Chris Neil on Thursday in Ottawa. He says he's day-to-day.

Notes: The Canadiens practised in green pants and helmets, part of the replica 1910-11 uniforms they'll wear Tuesday against the Calgary Flames. ... Martin said his time-frame for naming his captain has not changed, that is, he'll do so when he's ready. "I like the way we're working. We have a good group of individuals providing leadership," Martin said.