Montreal Canadiens: Players who must step up with Brendan Gallagher out
By Omar L
The Habs reacquired Weise in the trade that sent David Schlemko to the Philadelphia Flyers and gave him a chance in the lineup. He wasn’t the same and didn’t look as if he could keep things together. Perhaps that changes as it’s a new season and a new opportunity to bring a spark to the fourth line along with Lukas Vejdemo and Nate Thompson.
The biggest takeaway from the Gallagher injury is how important it will be for Max Domi and Nick Suzuki to continue to have success. Domi has been on a hot streak with a goal in each of his last six games. Suzuki has done his part in those scoring efforts with an assist on half of the goals.
The two are finding each other and using their speed to rush the puck up the ice and get some quality zone time. With Gallagher out, Julien should rely on that line along with Artturi Lehkonen to provide offence for the team.
That is, of course, if Julien goes to what is comfortable for him and bumps Weal up for the time being. Another fun experiment could be promoting Suzuki. A lot of responsibility for a rookie in the NHL, but it would be a good way for the Montreal Canadiens to maintain their offensive output on each of their top-two lines.
Only having one line going isn’t going to help the team succeed, and the man advantage is better than last season, but still not consistent enough to rely on for a timely goal.
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Adversity is here and in full effect for the Montreal Canadiens, and a number of players need to step up and replace what the roster lost with Gallagher. There are the names we choose to focus on, but there’s also a chance a mystery entry comes out of the rough and establishes himself. Now would be the perfect time for that.