The weariness that has set in over this somewhat long season, like the failures he has experienced on an individual level, has almost accustomed us to talking about Brendan Gallagher as the player he is no longer.
Updated yesterday at 11:31 p.m.
Will he score 30 goals again in a season? Hard to say. Will his 6.5 million contract valid until 2027 stand the test of time? Maybe… but surely not.
However, when he returned to the game after an absence of eight games, his third convalescence of the season, he recalled what he still is and will always be. Despite the Habs’ 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators, Gallagher was, as he has been since day one of his career, right in the thick of the action.
He had only 13 games left (now 12) to try to finish strong, failing to redeem, which is already shaping up to be the worst season of his career on the offensive level. After the defeat, he did not hide his intentions. Yes, he wants to play with “consistency” and with “confidence”, “to have an impact”. But he wants, above all, “to win matches”. It was true when things were going well. It was still so when the team was at its worst and the liquidation was announced to be complete. It is always so while the rest is becoming clearer little by little.
This is of course obvious… but not so much. The shift the organization is taking couldn’t be more glaring. Just to see the defense, with three rookies in uniform, we understand that the transition has begun.
Martin St-Louis, day after day, emphasizes the process before the results: in other words, the way his flock plays and behaves interests him more than victory or defeat.
Nevertheless, the errors in the transition will be real and, probably, numerous. Losses too. The man behind the bench appears in itself as a remedy against gloom. However, he cannot be the only one.
All professional athletes, by definition, hate losing. But few hate him as much as Brendan Gallagher.
“He’s a guy who takes the team to war,” noted St-Louis. He goes into the trenches. Over 82 games, it’s good to have guys like him to bring emotion into a game. I don’t want him to lose this, [car] it’s good for our young people. He shows up in every game. If young people can absorb this mentality, we will be correct. »
David Savard abounded in the same direction. Players like Gallagher, better to have them [s]on side”. “He will never change,” believes the defender. And that’s good. Because regardless of the process and its virtues, “these are victories that will lead us in the right direction”. “Nobody is supposed to like to lose,” added the Quebecer.
What does not pass
The theme of what’s done and what’s not done is all the rage these days in the NHL. In some circles, for example, too blustering celebration of a spectacular goal is a legitimate pretext for physical retaliation.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Justin Barron celebrates his goal with Corey Schueneman in 2and period.
There is in any case at least one thing that Brendan Gallagher does not endure: feigning an injury.
Tim Stützle looked near death after his knee made contact with Nick Suzuki’s knee late in the second half. A dangerous blow which the Canadian player could hear about later this week if the disciplinary authorities of the NHL are interested in it.
The German skated painfully with a sports therapist to get closer to his bench. But after a few good breaths, he came back to life and stayed on the ice to start the power play.
At the very end of the match, with a minute to go, Gallagher said his thoughts to his opponent. We made big eyes, we exchanged words that we suspect would not be pronounced at prime time. Gloves flew.
After the match, the veteran launched into a spiel on the subject.
“When I was 10 years old, my coach imposed a rule on us: if you stay lying on the ice and a therapist has to come get you, you have to stay on the bench and skip three shifts. [Stützle] he’s a great player, I’ve been playing him for two years, but in half the games he lay on the ice and played the next shift. There are children watching us, we must be role models. If I was his teammate, I would tell him to be smarter. It doesn’t look good. He is very talented, but he has to stop doing this. It’s embarassing. »
Allow us to cough politely at the argument of setting an example for the youth: was fighting for it much better? We’ll talk about it.
But we keep coming back to it: the Canadian will need this intensity and tenacity over the next few years. And until proven otherwise, there’s no better candidate than Brendan Gallagher to inject him into this team.
In details
Greatness and Misery of Barron
Justin Barron would certainly have preferred a different context to score his first goal in the National League, we hear. Nevertheless, he has nothing to be ashamed of this first goal, which he scored by demonstrating his great qualities as a skater, but also as a shooter; that shot from the wrists was one of the major leagues. Honorable mention to Jake Evans for his work as a screen in front of Anton Forsberg. “He put himself in the perfect position and anticipated the game,” described Brendan Gallagher. However, her evening ended in pain, and we are not talking about that of defeat, but of the very real pain in one leg after she had turned on the wrong side, under the weight of Mathieu Joseph, with four minutes to play. Barron still returned to the rink to wave to the crowd when he was named second star of the game, but did not meet the media as the team announced he was undergoing treatment.
Stützle’s smile
If Tim Stützle made Brendan Gallagher rage after the game, the mere mention of his name caused the Senators to marrade. Brady Tkachuk, for example, retained the smile of the young 20-year-old striker, when the CH players wanted to quarrel at the end of the match. ” I loved it. He’s fiery, competitive, he wants to win. He does not back down. It was hilarious to see her smile, commented Tkachuk. We are all there to protect him and it showed at the end, everyone was ready to defend him. We are blessed to have him with us. After a slow start to the season (8 points in his first 21 games), the German has regained the cruising speed expected of a third overall pick. His goal on Tuesday was his sixth point in his last six games, and he has 43 points in 68 games.
Ylonen does not stop
We often forget him behind the young defenders and Cole Caufield, but Jesse Ylönen will be another hope to follow with the Canadian by the end of the season. He played his fifth game on Tuesday since his recall and continues to be incisive offensively, even if he did not collect a point. The Finn, drafted at 35and rank in 2018, ended his night after four shots, three of which were real threats. On one of them, he also went two against one with Ryan Poehling, and opted for the shot. With the quality of his quickdraw, he had better focus on passing shots when the situation arises, he who had only one shot – a goal – in his last four games. His playing time may be limited, but the fact that he is employed on the power play gives an indication of the potential that St-Louis sees in him.
They said
It’s fun for him. In addition, he does it in Montreal, in front of an exceptional crowd. His shot was perfect. It’s fun that he marks his first, and for sure it won’t be the last.
David Savard, about Justin Barron
He had good intentions. Sometimes it’s not just the guy with the puck’s fault. Sometimes the other player didn’t take the right angle, the right route. I will look at it. I don’t think that’s a big mistake. It’s not something that will make me “bench” a young person and take away his confidence. He gave us so many good minutes tonight, but also since I’ve been here.
Martin St-Louis on the Corey Schueneman turnover that led to the Senators’ first goal
Brady plays with a lot more maturity. It’s tough without the puck, but it’s tough with the puck too. Hitting and knocking players down is one thing, but you can also be tough when it’s hard to get the puck away. Him, Josh Norris and Drake Batherson, it was hard to take the puck away from them.
DJ Smith on Brady Tkachuk
It was a series atmosphere, it went both ways, the momentum changed sides. It’s good that our young people are experiencing this. In the third period, we played more north-south, it was faster. We used our legs to defend ourselves and create an attack.
Austin Watson
Rising
Mike Hoffman
Far from being the darling of this column, Hoffman has shown involvement on the left of Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. Offensively, we saw the intelligence boasted by Martin St-Louis. One of his best games in quite a while.
Falling
Nick Suzuki
A particularly difficult outing for the title co-winner of the Molson Cup. His knee-to-knee contact with Tim Stützle could have had serious consequences; in any case, he cost a goal while Suzuki was in the penalty box.
The number of the match
5
By marking his 16and goal of the season, Cole Caufield finished fifth among NHL rookies this season.