Brendan Gallagher continues to be a star for the Montreal Canadiens, but his goal-scoring ways are up there amongst other NHL stars as well.
When you think of goal scoring in the NHL, the same names come to mind. Alexander Ovechkin will go down as the best raw producer by the time he retires but others such as Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid, and Nikita Kucherov stand out as well. For the longest time on the Montreal Canadiens, Max Pacioretty was the one to score though Brendan Gallagher has always been there beneath the surface.
The Philadelphia Flyers game saw Gallagher score his first career hat-trick bringing his season total to 26. He’s now four away from hitting 30 for the second year in a row and five from matching his output. Another six and beyond establish new career highs for the 26-year-old with 21 games to spare.
What’s interesting is when you look at Gallagher’s production since breaking out into the league, specifically at even strength. Scoring on the powerplay is a strength for teams when you need a quick response or an opportunity to shut the door on the opposition. However, even strength is when the majority of the game is played and being able to produce there is more important.
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Dating back to the 2012/13 season, when Gallagher made his NHL debut, he has 109 goals at even strength. That has the 30-year-old 32nd amongst league scorers surpassing players such as Mark Schiefele, Zach Parise, and Gabriel Landeskog. Additionally, 32 of his goals have been the first of the game four fewer than Pacioretty.
By no means am I saying Gallagher is a better goal scorer than Pacioretty. This is only to shed light on Gallagher’s ability to score and that his production is amongst the best in the NHL. Tomas Tatar is on this list as well at 42 with 101 even strength goals where 16 of them were scored as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
As far as the location of his goals, it’s where you’d expect if you’ve watched Gallagher play. 72% of Gallagher’s goals come in that slot region from the net extending outward to the halfway point of either faceoff circle. Breaking it down further, 38% of the goals are in the slot whereas the remaining 34% are scored in the crease.
Gallagher pays for his work, but it pays off. It’s no surprise he sometimes turns down opportunities to play at the World Hockey Championships or takes maintenance days instead of practicing. He takes a beating trying to establish position in the offensive zone to score, and it’s clearly worked over the last seven years.
Similar to last season, there’s no fluke of inflation of scoring from Gallagher here. He’s currently shooting at 11.8% and was at 11.2% last year when he put up 31.
The Montreal Canadiens are lucky to have a player who symbolizes what effort and skill can do regardless of size. Gallagher is an example that it doesn’t matter who you are instead what you bring to the table to get you to where you want to be. Keep in mind that he was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2010.
Mid-draft picks rarely make it to the show, and Gallagher continued to work from the moment he put on that #73 sweater. He may not have the flash of some of the other league’s stars, but he shouldn’t be forgotten as one.