For more than a decade, Brendan Gallagher has embodied what it means to be a Montreal Canadiens player. Now, with Montreal facing elimination against the Carolina Hurricanes, the veteran winger finds himself watching from the press box. Gallagher went over 13 years without being a healthy scratch, but during a stretch in March, he sat out the game against the San Jose Sharks. What was once unthinkable became a regular occurrence as the season went on.
Fans thought it would be different when the playoffs came around. For the most part, Gallagher has had to watch from the press box. He plays with his heart on his sleeve every night, an element that is missing from the Canadiens current lineup, but Martin St. Louis believes they found a way to replicate what the diminutive winger provided to the lineup as a collective.
“We've played without Gally in these playoffs and I feel like we've found a way to collectively replace that a little bit,” said St. Louis when asked how someone who is playing in Gallagher’s place can honour what he means to the team. He then explains how the responsibility does not fall on just one person but on the group as a whole. “I don't think it falls on one player, l think it's just a group mentality. It's a mindset. We want to compete, and we wouldn't be here without a high compete level." For most of the playoffs, that has been true. The Canadiens have had back-to-back seven-game wars against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres, but in this series against the Hurricanes, Montreal is struggling to stay competitive. While St. Louis believes the Canadiens have collectively replaced Gallagher's impact, the winger still made an impression when given an opportunity earlier in the playoffs.
Gallagher has played just three games during the Canadiens playoff run, all against the Lightning. He made his first appearance in Game 5, and with the series then tied up at two, the Canadiens needed to leave that game with a win. Gallagher made his presence felt in the game, opening the scoring for Montreal, picking up a rebound in front of the net. A vintage Gallagher goal, getting into the greasy areas. He stayed in the lineup for the rest of the series, but has not been back in the lineup since Game 7 of round one. With the Canadiens down 3-1 in their series against the Hurricanes, some were looking for Gallagher to make his return, but that has become increasingly unlikely.
Gallagher, along with Oliver Kapanen and Patrik Laine, was seen this morning on the ice, which would indicate he will remain out of the lineup. Tonight’s game against the Hurricanes is do-or-die for the Canadiens, and with Gallagher all but confirmed to be a healthy scratch, it is looking likely that we have seen his final game with the organization. If this is really the end of Gallagher’s time in Montreal, he deserves a chance to finish it off fighting with the team, but this is not Hollywood. You do not always get the ending you dreamed of.
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