It looks like the Montreal Canadiens will be making a change to their lineup ahead of Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it may not be the one most expected.
The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have a morning skate on Wednesday morning ahead of Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but as always, the extras, those who won’t be suiting up, did take to the ice. According to TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, the group included the usual suspects: Samuel Montembeault, Jacob Fowler, Patrik Laine, Joe Veleno and Adam Engstrom. There was, however, a new face: Oliver Kapanen, while alternate captain Brendan Gallagher was not there. Noah Dobson also joined in a bit later, according to Pierre LeBrun.
It likely indicates that Gallagher will make his debut in this series tonight, for Game 5, with the stakes as high as can be. The experienced winger has played 76 playoff games over the course of his career, picking up 13 goals and 20 assists along the way for a total of 33 points, while averaging 16:09 of ice time.
15 of his playoff games were played against the Bolts, and in those games, he put up nine points (five goals and four assists) while averaging 15:50 of ice time. Of course, he’s not likely to see that much action tonight, but he could still have a big impact on proceedings. The veteran has never been afraid to go to the front of the net in heavy traffic and create havoc. His presence could spell trouble for Andrei Vasilevskiy, even if it’s just by being a thorn in the side of the defensemen.
The veteran played his last game on April 14 against the Philadelphia Flyers, after being a healthy scratch for four games. He scored a goal and was very energetic on the ice that night. Of course, playing against a few rookies in a game with very little meaning is not the same as playing in a pivotal playoff tilt against an experienced group, but Gallagher is very aware of that.
Wherever Martin St-Louis decide to deploy him, he can count on one thing: getting 100% effort from the battle-tested player. It makes little doubt that the veteran will be used in a bottom-six line, and it therefore more than likely means that someone from the bottom-six will be promoted.
Speaking to the media at the team's hotel, the coach said:
There’s no doubt if he plays he’s going to give you everything he has; he does that every game[...] Everybody goes through different challenges throughout the end of their career…but the fact that you’ve had those challenges is actually a privilege because it shows how long you’ve been around
St-Louis also added that the veteran's career speaks for itself and that he wears his heart on his sleeve, which won't come as a surprise for anybody who has paid attention to the Canadiens since Gallagher joined them 14 years ago.
We’ll know who when the players take warmup ahead of the game, but in the meantime, I can tell you that I would like to see Josh Anderson bring his speed and energy to the first line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. That would allow Juraj Slafkovsky to join Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook on the second line, making it a bit more challenging for Jon Cooper to get the matchups he wants, especially if the change ignites the top-six.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.