MONTREAL — As the faceoff is won back to the point, Brendan Gallagher cuts to the middle of the ice.
The puck finds its way to him as he arrives in the slot, and he whacks it on net and ties up Morgan Geekie as Christian Dvorak picks up the rebound and puts the Montreal Canadiens on the board.
It’s one of several sequences of this 4-1 win for the Canadiens that makes you say, “Same old Gallagher.”
These Boston Bruins aren’t the ones he’s terrorized on occasion over his 13-year career, though. Far from it. This is arguably the most anonymous collection of players wearing black and gold ever seen in an April game at the Bell Centre, with Marat Khusnutdinov playing nearly 15 minutes, Henri Jokiharju elevated to the top defence pairing in Charlie McAvoy’s absence and David Pastrnak probably longing for someone as good as former teammate Charlie Coyle to play with.
Never mind Brad Marchand.
The thing is, Gallagher was the same Gallagher we’ve always known against Marchand’s Florida Panthers in Montreal’s last two wins before he was the same Gallagher in this convincing one against these Bruins.
That guy has always been dangerous.
There was thought he’d never get to 20 goals again after injuries piled up and made him a shell of himself for parts of seasons between 2020 and 2023, but one against the Bruins Thursday put him one away from the mark. It also marked the seventh time he’s scored at least 19 in his career.
Gallagher has always been about much more than goals, though, and this season is no exception.
“He’s obviously an important player for us on the ice and all those things,” said Mike Matheson, “but obviously a huge leader for us and kind of the heart-and-soul guy that seems to be one of the best at getting us going when we really need it.”
That’s what Gallagher did against the Bruins, who came to the Bell Centre winless in their last nine.
He was all business on his first shift of the game, sending a brilliant breakaway pass to Matheson just 1:28 in.
Matheson didn’t convert, and, as coach Martin St. Louis said after the game, the Canadiens didn’t convert either in that first period because they weren’t playing as direct as they should.
But Dvorak broke the ice 40 seconds into the second period because Gallagher helped lead his line — and the team — to the direct game they needed to play.
Both players, along with Josh Anderson, have played such an integral role in the Canadiens placing themselves two points up on the New York Rangers for the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference with seven games to go. They’ve been together for most of the season and have complemented each other perfectly to bring the best out of one another.
Dvorak and Gallagher put Anderson’s speed and physicality to use by putting the puck in places he could hunt it down. Gallagher takes advantage of Anderson winning those battles by causing havoc in the slot and in front of the net, where he’s always been most effective. And what Dvorak has brought to the line perhaps hasn’t stood out as much, but it’s been just as valuable.
The 29-year-old’s goal was his 11th of the season. He has 19 assists. And those numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Dvorak has won over 55 per cent of his faceoffs, played a huge part on a penalty kill that’s operated over 80 per cent, and helped drive his line to a 54 per cent share of the expected goals at five-on-five while starting 58 per cent of their shifts away from the offensive zone.
“He wins a lot of faceoffs, he’s very responsible defensively, he understands how we want to play, he’s got an offensive side to him, he’s got a pretty good vision, pretty good playmaker, and I think he’s able to play inside his strengths,” said St. Louis. “I don’t think Dvo is elite at anything, but he’s very good at a lot of things, and I think that’s how you play a long time in this league. You don’t have to be elite in one thing to play a long time, but if you’re very good at many things, you carve yourself a good career, and I think that’s what he’s doing.”
Anderson is doing what he’s mostly done his whole career, too — terrorizing the opposition with his pace and physicality — while both he and Gallagher have been inspiring everyone around them.
Gallagher especially, of late.
“He’s great,” said 21-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky about his 32-year-old teammate. “The way he fights every night, no matter what the circumstances are, is just great. Pretty much everyone should look up to him in this locker room.”
It’s how it’s been for a long time, but it feels more noteworthy now — with the Canadiens closer to the playoffs than they’ve been since they went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
They’ve all been playing like they want this badly, but Gallagher and Anderson have been playing like they can’t live without it.
“I think it’s so important,” said 30-year-old Anderson, who was traded to Montreal five years ago — after three playoff appearances in his first four full seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. “You come to this organization, you wear this jersey on this chest, the history behind this, and (Gallagher’s) been here forever… There’s nothing like playing playoff hockey at the end of the day.”
Anderson and Gallagher did it exactly as you’d expect them to in the 2021 run, and they’re doing it just the same to get the Canadiens back into those games after patiently accepting over the last three seasons that their younger teammates needed experience and weren’t ready to play in them.
“It’s not an easy thing to do when you rebuild like that; It doesn’t help the older guy, it helps the young guy,” said St. Louis. “I feel we’re in a transitional year where this year it was time for the younger guys to give it back to the older guys in terms of the risk they’re going to take in the game just so they can pad their stats but maybe not help the team win. To me, it’s a year I feel the younger guys have started to give it back to the older guys, and I think we really have gelled as a group as we’ve learned how to win as a team. But without the older guys… I don’t think we’re in this position today. Those guys are a huge part.”
Nick Suzuki, who was one of the kids, is now 25, and he’s been spectacular.
The Canadiens’ captain had a goal and an assist against the Bruins for his third straight multi-point game, giving him 81 points on the season, with a league-leading 29 coming after the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Cole Caufield, 24, scored his 35th goal of the season Thursday.
Slafkovsky recorded his 48th point while fellow 21-year-old Lane Hutson was held without one.
But the rookie defenceman has 62 on the season and has been one of the biggest reasons the Canadiens have been successful to date.
Gallagher has been the same Gallagher he’s always been, and the Canadiens should be thankful for that — even on a night where they weren’t playing a team that remotely resembled the Bruins we’ve seen over the last 13 years.
