Samuel Montembeault had one of his strongest performances of the season on Saturday afternoon against Columbus but he couldn’t get much goal support. In the end, a power play goal from Patrik Laine in the dying seconds of regulation time was the difference-maker as the Habs fell 2-1.

With Cayden Primeau struggling and Samuel Montembeault playing through injury, it was only a matter of time before the Habs added a goalie.  They did so on Saturday, acquiring Andrew Hammond from Minnesota in exchange for winger Brandon Baddock.

The decision to let Dominique Ducharme go as head coach wasn’t too surprising but the appointment of Martin St. Louis as interim head coach certainly was. Our writers weigh in on the coaching change in Montreal.

Despite a solid effort from the team on Thursday night, the Habs were let down by their goaltending as the Capitals scored four times on their first 15 shots on their way to best Montreal 5-2 despite being outshot 44-23.

The Habs have found their replacement for Dominique Ducharme and it’s someone that certainly wasn’t on the radar as long-time NHL winger Martin St-Louis has been named as their new interim head coach.

It has been a tough season for the Habs on many fronts and another casualty has occurred from it as the team announced Wednesday that Dominique Ducharme has been fired as head coach.

After a long rest, the Habs looked exactly like they did before the All-Star break. They got off to a slow start and never recovered on Tuesday night, falling 7-1 to New Jersey.

Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes have spent the last little bit assessing what they have and making their plans for reshaping their roster. The first step will be to peddle impending UFAs for picks and prospects but what else could they do?

After a rough first quarter of the season, the second wasn’t any better for the Habs. Nevertheless, there are still some decent grades in our report cards, beginning as always with the goaltenders and defencemen.

Who were the top performers for the Habs in January? Make your selections for Montreal’s three stars of the month.