Montreal's Carey Price has struggled since coming back from a groin injury suffered in December. (Bill Kostroun/Associated Press)

A roster shuffle didn't help matters Wednesday night for the Montreal Canadiens, but they have another shot to right the ship when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET).

The big news surrounding the Canadiens (30-21-7) over the last couple days has been the exclusion of Alexei Kovalev from the team's two-game road trip. Habs GM Bob Gainey told the struggling winger that he was being given some "time off." There's no word on when he'll return, if at all.

But the move didn't push Montreal back into the win column, as they lost to Washington 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday. To add insult to injury, Alex Ovechkin scored a goal that's sure to be replayed over and over again for months.

But head coach Guy Carbonneau said he was happy how the team performed against the second-place team in the Eastern Conference.

"I thought overall we played a great game against a team that was playing extremely well lately and that's been tough to beat at home," he said. "We've been struggling lately, so to come here and play the way we've done is really encouraging."

The Habs sit in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, a far cry from where they were a year ago (first), and are only seven points ahead of ninth-place Carolina.

Problems throughout roster

Before the season started, Montreal looked to have a roster that was solid at every position. But 58 games into the season, the Canadiens have problems throughout.

Last year's breakout star, goalie Carey Price, has struggled mightily in the last couple months. He's 2-7-1 since Jan. 20, when he returned to the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury in late December.

The Montreal offence, which was so potent last season, can't buy a goal this year. The top scorer on the club is defenceman Andrei Markov, with a mere 45 points. The defence has a combined plus-minus of minus-1.

But if the Habs want to feel better about their prospects, all they need to do is look at the other end of the ice.

One year removed from their trip to the Stanley Cup final, Pittsburgh (27-25-6) has to be the disappointment of the NHL season so far.

The team was so dominant last season, laden with young superstar talent, but find themselves in 10th place, six points out of the final playoff spot.

The major casualty of the slump was coach Michel Therrien, who was fired by the squad earlier this week. He was replaced by Dan Bylsma, head coach of Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate in Wilkes Barre-Scranton. He lost in his debut behind the Penguins bench, a 3-2 decision against the New York Islanders on Monday.

"I was a little bit surprised, but the team is struggling, so things can happen," captain Sidney Crosby said of the coaching change. "The first time we met him was at a team meeting this morning, and then we went through our normal pregame routine."

Even through the team's struggles, Crosby and fellow superstar Evgeni Malkin continue to light it up in the NHL scoring race. Crosby's third with 73 points, and Malkin's first with 82.

With files from the Associated Press