Third Star: Brendan Gallagher
Brendan Gallagher is having another typical season for himself. That means he outworks just about everyone every night, gets to the front of the net on nearly every shift and creates absolute havoc there.
He also scored, quite frequently.
Gallagher is not going to lead the league in goals, but after another great performance last night, he has ten goals in 22 games. He is just inside the top 20 on the goals scored list and is proving to be more than worthy of that contract extension that will kick in next season.
He lined up on a line with Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar last night, as he has done most nights since the start of the 2018-19 campaign. The trio is known for tremendous two-way play as they are comfortable shutting down the best players in the league, but also have a regular 30 goal man in Gallagher.
He looked like a 30 goal scorer again last night. With the Habs leading 2-0 in the second period, Gallagher scored two pretty similar goals within three minutes to double the Canadiens lead.
On both goals he got open down low in the Jets zone and one-timed nice passes from Danault. He got to the front of the net and quickly capitalized on his chances like he has been doing since making his NHL debut in 2012.
The game continued to be tilted in the Habs direction after Gallagher’s goals and would end 7-1. However, last week the Habs were leading the Jets 2-0 and lost 6-3. Gallagher ensured that wouldn’t happen again when he extended that lead to 4-0 and put it out of reach.