As players get close to returning to the lineup, roster spots need to be created.  The Habs took a step in that direction Wednesday as they placed Mathieu Perreault on waivers.

It was a battle of basement dwellers on Tuesday night as the Coyotes were in town to take on the Habs. The Canadiens got off to a terrible start and weren’t able to overcome it, ultimately falling 6-3.

While the week didn’t start off on a particularly good note for the Habs, a pair of late-game comebacks allowed the Canadiens to pick up three points over the weekend including a victory in the second half of a back-to-back.

Sunday’s game in Philadelphia was sloppy as both teams had played the night before and it showed as execution was sorely lacking on both sides. The Flyers took three different leads but the Habs just wouldn’t die. Finally, they scored in the final minute which led to an overtime rocket from Caufield that saw the Montreal skate away with a 4-3 victory.

The Habs were able to come back from a two-goal deficit in the third period against Seattle on Saturday night but they weren’t able to secure the victory as the Kraken had the lone goal in the shootout in the seventh round to secure the extra point.

Cedric Paquette has struggled this season with Montreal and the team has opted to try to free up a roster spot instead of carrying him as a scratch any longer as Montreal placed him on waivers on Saturday.

As the Habs look to add some prospects between now and the trade deadline, adding a quality young centre with an eye on having that player fill the longer-term void created by the departure of Jesperi Kotkaniemi should be a goal for Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton.

A lot of Montreal’s realistic trade currency comes from their back end but there are a few forwards who seemingly have a reasonable chance of being traded between now and the March 21st trade deadline.

Montreal’s trip to Western Canada certainly didn’t get off to a good start but the second half of the week was certainly better for the Canadiens as they picked up a pair of wins with Montreal’s top line leading the way.

The Habs didn’t win the battle of video reviews on Saturday night in Edmonton as all three reviews went the way of the home side. However, Montreal won the battle on the scoreboard by scoring three more than the Oilers, skating away with the 5-2 victory.