There’s an $8.7 million question the Habs have likely been pondering for a while.  When Patrik Laine returns from his core muscle injury, what are they going to do with him?  With him skating and nearing a return, that question is about to be answered.

It would be fair to say that the Habs had their struggles this past week. On the other hand, they still managed to come out of their games with five of a possible eight points, good enough to keep them in the top three in the increasingly tight Atlantic Division.

After dropping the first two games of their road trip, the Habs looked to salvage a victory as they took on Ottawa on Saturday. They certainly didn’t play well for most of the game but did just enough to secure a 6-5 overtime win.

The second quarter of the season was a lot like the first for Montreal. A couple more wins than losses while they continue to hang around the top three in the division. Several forwards were key contributors to their success, earning high grades from our writers.

The three-goalie rotation is over in Montreal, at least for the time being.  The Habs announced on Friday that they’ve assigned goalie Jacob Fowler along with centre Owen Beck to Laval.

Alexandre Texier has turned out to be a key piece for the Habs since signing with them back in November.  On Wednesday, he was rewarded for his efforts as the Canadiens have signed him to a two-year extension that will carry a $2.5 million cap hit.

The Habs led for the majority of the night in Washington on Tuesday. However, the Capitals poured it on in the third with Montreal in the final game of their five-in-seven set. That allowed Washington to tie it late and then Connor McMichael scored in overtime for the 3-2 win.

Despite controlling the game from the start, the Habs and Canucks were tied heading into the third. However, Montreal potted three in the final frame to pick up the 6-3 win in the first half of another back-to-back set.

After their long road trip, the Habs returned home to kick off a long stretch of home games. While the week didn’t end particularly well, Montreal played a pair of solid games in their first two contests, allowing them to come away with a reasonable four points.

The Habs have been pretty consistent over the last couple of months, picking up enough points to stay in the playoff hunt while avoiding the multiple losing streaks that proved to be problematic last season.