Pitlick had one hit and finished minus-1 over 18:59 of ice time in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Blackhawks.

EDGE Analysis

Pitlick made his Montreal debut after being claimed off waivers from the Wild a day earlier. He donned the No. 32 sweater and took up residence on the second line with Christian Dvorak and Jonathan Drouin. The Canadiens expect to have injured forwards Josh Anderson (upper body), Paul Byron (hip), Brendan Gallagher (lower body) and Tyler Toffoli (hand) return at some point during a road trip that extends through Jan. 24, so Pitlick may not stick in a top-six role for much longer. A game Saturday at home against the Devils has been postponed, meaning Montreal's next scheduled game is Monday in Arizona.