Brendan Gallagher out for at least six weeks
Montreal Canadiens wing Brendan Gallagher will miss at least six weeks with two fractured fingers on his left hand that he suffered while blocking a shot.
The Montreal Canadiens are off to a strong start this season. They currently sit in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 16-4-2 record and are tied with the Dallas Stars for the best record in the NHL. Brendan Gallagher has been an extremely important part of their success so far. The Canadiens will be without their third leading scorer for at least six weeks after he fractured two of his fingers on his left hand while blocking a shot by New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk.
6 weeks out minimum for #canadiens Brendan Gallagher.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 24, 2015
Losing a player like Gallagher is a huge blow for any team. Gallagher has 19 points (nine goals and 10 assists) so far this season for the Canadiens. He has been an incredible asset to Montreal’s first forward line of Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec. The three forwards are Montreal’s three top scorers. His two-way play has been phenomenal this season. Now the Canadiens will have to go on without him for at least the next six weeks.
It’s an unfortunate injury. Gallagher suffered it while helping his team and Boychuk certainly didn’t mean to do it. Even Boychuk felt horrible afterwards.
“It was pretty gross,” Boychuk said, via NHL.com. “Oh yeah, that would hurt. I mean, it’s a one-timer right on his finger, so I don’t think it’s good.”
It will be interesting to see what the Canadiens do to replace Gallagher. For the time being, Devante Smith-Pelly took Gallagher’s spot on the first forward line in practice this morning.
Devante Smith-Pelly is taking Brendan Gallagher spot on the first line. #canadiens #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 24, 2015
Long-term, the Canadiens might need to explore better options. Smith-Pelly is a fine forward, but he’s not nearly as complete of a player as Brendan Gallagher. The Canadiens have had a relatively smooth road to success so far. Even losing star goaltender Carey Price wasn’t that big of a deal considering how well Montreal has been playing as a team. Gallagher is a huge loss and the Habs will miss him dearly.