Just like that, the Montreal Canadiens are in serious need of help down the middle.

The club was told this week that both Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais, its top two centers, will be out of the lineup for the better part of two months.

Related: Let the Hanzal-to-Habs speculation begin in earnest

With that, the Canadiens are in need of replacements, or at least a player who can help them weather the storm for the next six-to-eight weeks.

Below are a few options:

Peter Holland

Peter Holland almost makes too much sense for the Canadiens.

The Toronto Maple Leafs center has found the doghouse in Mike Babcock Land thanks to inconsistent play, and is looking for a new home.

There's no denying Holland has the potential to produce effectively at the NHL level. He can play up and down the lineup, and, most fittingly for the Canadiens, would likely cost a low-round draft pick, or could even potentially be plucked if he's placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs.

Ryan Spooner

Here it is: more Ryan Spooner trade talk.

The Boston Bruins forward went on record Wednesday to confirm that despite his name being mentioned in rumors recently, he'd like to remain with the Bruins, but there's no denying he'd be a welcome addition to the Canadiens in a potential trade.

Spooner is still young, and after a slow start to follow last year's solid 49-point season, his value isn't what it was.

A trade proposal that includes a defenseman is something the Bruins would at the very least have to consider. While Spooner has been playing more important minutes with Matt Beleskey out of the lineup, he certainly isn't untouchable.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

This one would take some big moves, but shouldn't be out of the question.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hasn't gotten off to the strong start the Edmonton Oilers would have liked this season. That aside, he's still young, talented, and has more in the tank than he has shown through 28 games.

The biggest obstacle in this case would be his contract, which will pay him $6 million for four more years following this season. It's also worth noting a potential deal here wouldn't come from the same division, which could also make him a more desirable option than the names above.

It's safe to assume the Oilers would also covet a defenseman, and one capable of making an immediate impact. Andrei Markov would make sense, but his age and the fact that his contract is up at season's end might not sit well with Edmonton.

The deal would take some heavy lifting, but could benefit the Canadiens now and into the future.

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Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Thursday, Dec. 8 (advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey):

Triple Threat

• C Sean Monahan (43K), LW Johnny Gaudreau (55K), RW Kris Versteeg (38K), Flames (at Coyotes): Monahan and Gaudreau aren't playing on the same line at 5v5, but they share the ice on the power play. The Flames have scored 16 goals over their current four-game winning streak. Arizona allows the most SCA60 (scoring chances against per 60 minutes) and has the highest xGA60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes) at 5v5.

• C Jeff Carter (63K), LW Tanner Pearson (47K), D Drew Doughty (43K), Kings (vs. Hurricanes): The Kings will catch the Hurricanes on their second night of a back-to-back on the California road trip that is treacherous for so many Eastern Conference teams G Cam Ward was lit up like a Christmas tree Wednesday, so expect 35-year-old journeyman Michael Leighton to start in goal.

• C Claude Giroux (66K), RW Jakub Voracek (74K), D Shayne Gostisbehere (47K), Flyers (vs. Oilers): The Oilers have just two wins in their last seven games, whereas the Flyers are winners of six straight. Giroux and Voracek have seven points apiece during the six-game stretch. Edmonton has the fourth-highest xGA60 at 5v5.

Goalie Breakdown

• TARGET - Carey Price (86K), Canadiens (vs. Devils): Price at 86K provides substantial value, especially with a matchup against the Devils. New Jersey generates the second-fewest scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5v5 in the league.

• BARGAIN - Chad Johnson (75K), Flames (at Coyotes): Johnson has been in net for the entire duration of Calgary's four-game winning streak. His .931 SV% and 2.04 GAA have provided the team it's best goaltending since Miikka Kiprusoff. Expect another strong performance against Arizona's anemic offense.

• FADE - Roberto Luongo (107K), Panthers (vs. Penguins): Luongo is a great goaltender, but it's tough to justify him being the most expensive netminder on the slate with a matchup against the high-flying Penguins.

• CONTRARIAN - Connor Hellebuyck (91K), Jets (vs. Rangers): Hellebuyck will probably be overlooked by many because of his matchup against the Rangers. However, he has a .922 SV% and a 2.36 GAA at home this season. The MTS Centre can be a hostile environment for road teams, especially those from the Eastern Conference.

Bargain Plays

• C Sam Bennett (32K), Flames (at Coyotes): Bennett has shuffled around the lineup during his second NHL season. As it currently stands, he is centering the team's top line with Johnny Gaudreau on his left wing. Despite having a modest 15 points, Bennett has five multi-point games, providing ample tournament value.

• LW Matthew Tkachuk (27K), Flames (at Coyotes): Thursday night will be a homecoming for Tkachuk. The 18-year-old was born in Scottsdale, Arizona while his father, Keith, was playing for the Coyotes. You can bet he will bring his A-game with friends and family in the stands. He has the ability to return value without a goal or an assist thanks to his physicality.

• D Michael Del Zotto (25K), Flyers (vs. Oilers): You need to take advantage of Del Zotto's low cost on Squad Up while you can. He has eight points in 13 games to go along with 26 shots, 56 hits and 28 blocks. He's a lock to return some form of value relative to his salary. Edmonton's defensive woes only raise his ceiling.

Top Fades

• C Mathieu Perreault (53K), Jets (vs. Rangers): There is absolutely no reason to roster a 53K player with just three points in 15 games.

• RW Alexander Radulov (58K), Canadiens (vs. Devils): Radulov has been great for the Habs this season, but there's a chance his production could tail off with his center, Alex Galchenyuk, sidelined for six-to-eight weeks.

• LW Max Pacioretty (70K), Canadiens (vs. Devils): In addition to Galchenyuk's injury, Montreal will also be without C David Desharnais for six-to-eight weeks. Desharnais isn't exactly an offensive weapon, but Montreal's already thin depth down the middle will be tested. It's tough to fork up 70K for Pacioretty with a matchup against Cory Schneider and the defensively-sound Devils.

Contrarian Options

• C Nathan MacKinnon (62K), Avalanche (at Bruins): MacKinnon has 11 points in 11 road games this season. He will be overlooked with his matchup against the Bruins, but Boston may opt to rest G Tuukka Rask after playing Wednesday night.

• C John Tavares (69K), Islanders (vs. Blues): With so many elite centers on Thursday's 10-game slate, Tavares will fly under the radar with a matchup against Ken Hitchcock's Blues. However, Jake Allen has an .870 SV% and a 3.59 GAA on the road this season.

• LW Andrew Ladd (41K), Islanders (vs. Blues): A prized free-agent signing by the Isles in the offseason, Ladd has been a major disappointment. He has just six points on the season, but three of them have come in his last four games. He could be turning a corner.

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Forget the others considered to be Norris Trophy candidates, because the NHL's best defenseman plays for the Ottawa Senators.

This was proven once again in a showdown between the league's two top-scoring blue-liners Wednesday in San Jose, wherein Erik Karlsson stole the show.

Karlsson scored a goal and added two assists to put himself four points ahead of Sharks counterpart Brent Burns, who managed to score a goal of his own. Karlsson also saw more time shorthanded than on the power play, and added to his already stellar defensive numbers with a couple of blocked shots.

In short, there's a clear case to be made that Karlsson should win the Norris Trophy once again this year, and why he should be in the running - if not the frontrunner - for years to come.

In a league of his own, offensively

Not only is Karlsson on pace to lead all defensemen in total points, he's the only player at his position to average a point per game, placing him in a tie for fourth among all players with 27 points.

Only Connor McDavid (36), Nikita Kucherov (29), and Evgeni Malkin (28) have recorded more points, while Karlsson's 27-point peers include Sidney Crosby, Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Seguin, Phil Kessel, and Patrick Kane.

Decent company, to be sure.

Bigger picture: since entering the NHL in 2009-10, Karlsson has recorded 412 points, 65 clear of second-ranked Duncan Keith in defensive scoring during that span.

In short, he has no equal in this department, and there's great defensive value in keeping the puck away from one's own net through offensive ability.

No defensive slouch

But lest we believe the myth that Karlsson is strictly an offensive dynamo, his more traditionally defined defensive performance to date this season has been sensational.

Karlsson ranks second among all NHL players in total ice time, and - for those who care about the stat - has posted a plus-five rating for a Senators team that boasts a minus-one goal differential.

In terms of killing penalties, Karlsson has seen 63:13 of ice time, already the fourth-highest single-season amount of his career, while the Senators rank fifth as a team in this category.

The key to Karlsson's success has been head coach Guy Boucher's new strategic deployment of the Swede.

Shorter shifts at even strength allow Karlsson to conserve energy and be effective in all situations. And even with the increase in shorthanded ice time, Karlsson is basically at par in terms of shot attempts recorded for an against when he's on the ice, meaning he's not a liability and is incredibly effective at pushing the puck up the ice.

Additionally, he ranks first in blocked shots with 78, averaging 2.9 per game, up from the career-high 2.1 averaged last season. He also has been taking the puck away from the opposition more than most.

And of course, the Senators as a team are benefiting to the tune of a 16-9-2 record through 27 games, good for second place in the Atlantic Division.

Yes, there are other worthy Norris Trophy finalists, but it would be a shame if Karlsson is overlooked once again this year.

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Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.

▲ Steve Mason

A six-game winning streak has propelled the Philadelphia Flyers back into a playoff spot, and Steve Mason has been providing the kind of high-end goaltending needed to succeed in today's NHL.

Look at the numbers from his last five starts:

His overall numbers aren't all that impressive (.908 save percentage through 22 appearances), but he's certainly found his game as of late and is giving the Flyers every opportunity to move up the standings.

▼William Nylander

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock put one of his star rookies on watch following a loss to Minnesota on Wednesday, calling out William Nylander's defensive effort and overall competitiveness.

Nylander began the night on the fourth line, and was bumped up late in order to help his team try to send the game to overtime, but to no avail. In truth, his offensive game hasn't been much to write home about following a scorching start.

After recording four goals and seven assists in nine October games, the 20-year-old has managed only two goals and three assists over his past 15 appearances.

Many young players experience growing pains, but Nylander clearly needs to put in the work to get out of Babcock's doghouse.

▲ Calgary Flames

After a disappointing start, the Calgary Flames are heating up under Glen Gulutzan's guidance, winning their past four games and thereby jumping into a Western Conference wild-card spot.

The Flames do have a goal differential of minus-10, by far the worst among all teams currently in a playoff position, but they've outscored the opposition by a margin of 15-6 over the course of the current streak.

Chad Johnson is proving to be a bona fide NHL starting goalie, while Johnny Gaudreau is sparking the offense with four points in two games since his return from injury, so things are definitely looking up in Calgary.

▼ Washington Capitals

Despite beating Boston in overtime Wednesday, the Washington Capitals held a players-only meeting after coughing up a 3-0 lead to the Bruins in the process.

Through 25 games, the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners are clinging to a wild-card spot, and perhaps a bit of regular-season malaise has set in for a team hoping to finally get over the hump when it matters most.

"We had a little talk in here, and there's some things we've got to clean up," T.J. Oshie said, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "I think it's more of a mentality than it is any systems or anything like that.

"Obviously, we want to play within our team game, but it's just a mentality that we've got to get back to. Once we get a step up on someone, we've got to get that mentality that we're going to finish them off."

Without that shift in mentality, the Capitals could be facing yet another early end to their season.

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Corey Perry is about to go on a goal-scoring tear, or at least that's what Randy Carlye hopes.

The Anaheim Ducks sniper snapped a bizarre 18-game goalless skid Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring the game-tying goal with just under three minutes left in regulation to send the contest to overtime.

The goal was a relief to Perry and as for Carlyle, he's hoping that Wednesday's goal is the first of many more to come.

"We hope Perry's ketchup bottle starts flowing," Carlyle said, according to Hannah Spraker of The Fourth Period.

For those who might not get the reference:

As for Perry he was just glad to see things finally go his way for once.

"It’s nice to see it hit the back of the net for once, and not the goalie," Perry said, according to Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times.

Now in his 12th NHL season, Perry has been a model of goal-scoring consistency throughout his career. In fact, not since the 2009-10 season has he not hit the 30-goal mark in a full 82-game season.

So, if he's to hit the mark again, we can expect the ketchup to start flowing.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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ANAHEIM, Calif. - Corey Perry and Nick Ritchie scored late in the third period to tie it and rookie Ondrej Kase got the deciding goal in a shootout, lifting the Anaheim Ducks over the Carolina Hurricanes 6-5 on Wednesday night.

After Ritchie deflected in Cam Fowler's shot with 3:59 left in the third, Perry got his fifth goal of the season with 2:28 remaining to tie it at 5.

Kase slickly deked to his backhand before lifting his shootout attempt over Cam Ward. It was the first non-regulation win for the Ducks this season.

Stefan Noesen got his first NHL goal, and Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Kesler also scored for Anaheim. John Gibson made 29 saves.

Teuvo Teravainen scored twice for the Hurricanes, and Jay McClement, Sebastian Aho and Brett Pesce also had goals. Ward made 33 saves while Carolina matched a season high with five goals.

Pesce scored on a slap shot 4:46 into the third period to give the Hurricanes a 4-2 lead. Kesler scored about four minutes later to cut the deficit, but Teravainen's second goal a minute later made it 5-3.

Noesen scored at 13:52 in the second period to make it 3-2. Joseph Cramarossa and Kase, former American Hockey League teammates with the San Diego Gulls, were credited with the assists.

Less than two minutes after McClement broke a 1-1 tie with a backhand around Gibson at 10:10 in the second period, Aho broke away, faked a shot and backhanded it over Gibson to make it 3-1.

With 38 seconds left in the first period, Teravainen tied it at 1 with a power-play goal. Jaccob Slavin couldn't get a stick on a pass and instead used his skate to get it over to the right circle, where Teravainen found it and ripped a slap shot past Gibson.

Cogliano put the Ducks on the board with just over three minutes left in the first, when he went five-hole on Ward with his own rebound, his seventh of the season.

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If you had Chris Kelly scoring the game-winning goal with just over a minute to play in the third period in a 2-2 game, you're lying.

Related: Karlsson becomes highest-scoring defenseman in Senators history

Kelly played hero for the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, his club earning a 4-2 decision over the San Jose Sharks. It was Ottawa's fifth straight win against San Jose, and third straight at the SAP Center.

Ottawa was outshot 37-17, and a whopping 28-11 in the final 40 minutes. San Jose put 18 pucks on the net in the third period, but Mike Condon was exceptional, stopping all but one in the frame, and winning his fourth as a Senator.

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