Savard, who missed the previous two games, is out because of a knee injury. The 32-year-old defensemen had 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 62 games and was sixth in the NHL with 176 blocks.
"He's a big presence on the ice for us and in the room," Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said Monday. "Tough to see him go down, but we've still got other guys that are big back there on defense for us. He's been a big part of our group ever since he joined us. Feel bad he can't finish he season with us."
Monahan, who hadn't played since Dec. 5, recently had surgery for a groin injury. The 28-year-old forward had 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 25 games this season, his first with the Canadiens after being acquired from the Calgary Flames on Aug. 18.
Monahan is in the final season of a seven-year contract he signed with the Flames on Aug. 19, 2016, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"We all feel bad for him," Suzuki said. "He's gone through a lot of surgeries the past few years. His spirits are as high as they can be. It's been a tough year for him. He was playing so well, and things just spiraled downhill. I've been talking to him a lot lately. He just wants to come back, have a good summer. He knows he can be a real good player. Hopefully a team sees that as well."
Belzile is out because of a broken leg. The 31-year-old forward had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 31 NHL games and 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 31 games with Laval of the American Hockey League.
Belzile, who signed a one-year, two-way contract with Montreal on July 13, can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"The time he's been in the lineup, he's been a huge part of our team on the penalty kill, he's got some 5-on-5 goals," Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson said. "He's completing our fourth line right now. He's jumped in that role and he's just grabbed a hold of it. He's been playing really good hockey. Stinks to see him go down now, but I think he definitely made a name for himself."
The injuries are just the latest for the Canadiens, who have played all season without goalie
Carey Price
(knee) and forward
Paul Byron
(hip). Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky (lower body), Cole Caufield (shoulder) and Josh Anderson (ankle) are also out for the season, as are defensemen Arber Xhekaj (shoulder) and Kaiden Guhle (ankle). Forward Kirby Dach has missed the past four games because of an upper-body injury and did not practice Monday.
"We've lost a lot of top-six players, a lot of top-four [defensemen] in the games," Suzuki said. "Monahan, Cole, Kirby, there's a lot of good forwards that have missed a lot of time. It's really unfortunate especially with the way we were playing at the start of the season with a full lineup. We showed what we can be. Losing guys one by one the rest of the year hasn't been good for our success. As players, you can't focus on that. We just want to play with who we got, and we've got to do our best out there."
Montreal (30-42-6) is last in the Atlantic Division after a 5-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
