Not a strong team down the middle to begin with, the Habs suffered a blow on Friday as David Desharnais has been ruled out for the next three weeks with a broken foot.
Desharnais, fourth among all Habs forwards in assists this year, suffered the injury taking a Tom Gilbert shot to the foot in Monday’s 6-2 loss in Arizona.
The diminutive forward has been something of a lightning rod in Montreal this season, as he’s one of head coach Michel Therrien’s favorite forwards -- but hardly a fan favorite. Desharnais averages over 16 minutes a night and is second on the club in faceoff duty, trailing only Tomas Plekanec.
With Desharnais out, the Habs will likely roll with Plekanec, Lars Eller, Jacob De La Rose and Torrey Mitchell as their centers moving forward.