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Canadiens Postgame

Habs Highlights: Brendan Gallagher Salvages Important Point

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1 month ago

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The Montreal Canadiens faced the New York Islanders on Thursday night, a match-up that carried important playoff implications for both clubs.

In case you weren’t aware, the Islanders are one of the teams that can catch the Canadiens for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. For the time being, the Canadiens have the inside track on their competition, but their margin for error is miniscule.

It was a hard-fought game that required overtime, where the Islanders emerged with a 4-3 win.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

It Was His Fault!

The Islanders scored the first goal of the game, which garnered a fair amount of finger pointing on social media.

That’s par for the course.

Some blamed Samuel Montembeault’s use of the infamous reverse VH, while others suggested Brendan Gallagher’s penalty was the crux of the issue. I’d also point to every skater on the ice, as Alexandre Carrier and Mike Matheson lost their one-on-one battles, Christian Dvorak was caught in no man’s land, and Josh Anderson was slow to react to the developing play.

It was a perfect example of everything going wrong, and a good reminder that bad plays are usually due to a series of mistakes, not just a single decision from the player closest to the puck before it finds the back of the net.


Much-Needed Production

Admittedly, I was a little worried about Joshua Roy this season. It’s not that I doubt his talent. Hell, I’ve been one of his most outspoken supporters, but it seemed like the demotion to the AHL to start the season had really done a number on his confidence. It’s not that he played poorly for the Laval Rocket, quite the contrary, but he just hasn’t had that extra pep in his step since the most recent promotion to the NHL.

He’s also being used on a line that struggled to produce half-decent underlying numbers prior to his arrival, adding a little more pressure to an already fragile situation. That being said, he’s on the second line, which means he has to produce, full stop.

That’s why his first goal of the season was a godsend from a confidence perspective.

Not only did he keep the play alive deep in the offensive zone, he outworked a very talented defender in Noah Dobson to tie the game for the Habs.

It also put the momentum firmly in Montreal’s corner, after what could be considered a very poor start for Martin St-Louis’ team.

Here We Go Again

It appeared the Montreal Canadiens had taken a 2-1 lead in the second period following a very nice outlet pass by Emil Heineman, not to mention a quick finish on the breakaway by Nick Suzuki.

The Islanders decided to challenge the play for offside, and after 5 or 10 minutes the referees decided it was indeed a good challenge, which meant the goal was called back.

It was incredibly close, and I’m not going to argue the call itself, but it’s impossible to ignore that the offside challenge truly destroys the spirit of hockey.

It was meant to stop blatant offside situations, not stop the fastest game on earth so referees and linesmen can huddle around an iPad to verify low-quality footage, and determine whether the player was a few millimetres offside.

I’d be in favour of automated offside calls, or leaving the calls up to the linesmen, as they usually get it right, but this weird hybrid situation does nothing but decrease the entertainment value of the sport. I know I’ve made this same rant whether or not it has cost the Habs a goal, but it’s difficult to understand why the NHL is sandbagging itself with such a ridiculous rule.

review source: me

Of Corsi

Things quickly went from bad to worse, as the Islanders capitalized on a Mike Matheson penalty to score their second powerplay goal of the game.

It was particularly frustrating for the Canadiens, especially when you consider they had controlled most of the shots and scoring chances at 5v5, but you’d be hard-pressed to suggest the Islanders didn’t put together a fantastic series of passes before Simon Holmstrom scored.


Things continued to fall apart in the third period, and Matheson was once again at the centre of the action. He was outworked by Bo Horvat early in the third period, and then beat an inert Montembeault to give the Islanders a precious 3-1 lead.

A Touch Of Luck

Montreal’s outlook got much better when Patrik Laine cut the Islanders lead to just one with a powerplay goal just a few minutes into the third period.

At first, it seemed to me that Juraj Slafkovsky’s left skate was still in the blue paint as the contact was made. I honestly expected the goal to be called back, but at the same time, there was no chance Sorokin was going to make the save regardless of Slafkovsky.

The referees reviewed the play and quickly decided it was not goaltender interference.

Irish Pride

It’s been a busy stretch for Brendan Gallagher. The hardest working player in the lineup welcomed a new face to the family when baby Everly joined Gallagher and his wife Emma Fortin. He also lost his mother, Della, after a long battle with cancer.

Of course, both situations are much more important than anything that happens on the ice, but sometimes hockey has a funny way of making life a little easier to process, both for fans and players.

With that in mind, it was clear that Gallagher’s game-tying third-period goal was very important for the 32-year-old forward.

Not only was it cathartic for Gallagher, it meant that the Habs once again put their resolve to the test, passing with flying colours.

Of course, there’s no better player to epitomize resilience than Gallagher. The Islanders would go on to win in overtime, but suffice it to say, Gallagher salvaged a crucial point on Thursday night.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday. They will face the Colorado Avalanche, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

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