Veteran defenceman Karl Alzner is taking his demotion to the American Hockey League in stride and it appears to be working after scoring in his debut with the Lavel Rocket on Wednesday night. 

"I was shocked, honestly," Alzner said after his game regarding his goal. "I don't typically get those ones off too well. They're kind of tough when they're coming right at you, but I was just lucky I got a hold of it and it found the spot.

"That's kind of what I needed to kind of to settle me in the game. It's good to score a goal at any level." 

Alzner remained positive when he spoke to reporters before the game against the Belleville Senators on Wednesday. 

“I’m always in a good mood,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on. You’re almost always going to get a smile out of me.”

Alzner cleared waivers on Tuesday and was assigned to the AHL.

The 30-year-old was waived Monday to clear a spot on the 23-man roster for team captain Shea Weber, who made his season debut Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Alzner, who is in the second season of a five-year, $23.125 million contract, carried the third largest cap hit ($4.625 million) among Canadiens defencemen and the sixth-highest salary on the team.

He has an assist and a plus-2 rating in eight games this season.