It seems like every other game, Montreal Canadiens alternate captain Brendan Gallagher is climbing up another step in the Habs history book. Tonight, if he scores, he'll tie former captain Max Pacioretty as 18th best goal scorer for the Tricolore with 226. The panel discusses whether Montreal Canadiens' Cole Caufield is about to achieve elite status in the NHL. Meanwhile, other players are chasing milestones. Cole Caufield, Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia are all within reach of the 100-goal plateau. The diminutive sniper needs seven, the veteran center needs five and the enigmatic Finn is six away. Someone is however just one point short of the 100-career point mark: center Jake Evans. Since he currently serves as second line center between Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook, he's in an excellent position to reach the plateau. While the Canadiens seems to be struggling at all times these days, Evans has been a warrior, giving his all all the way through and was rewarded for it by Martin St-Louis. He earned that second-line center spot, of course, the fact the other options underperformed came into play, but in a contract year, Evans is delivering. It's hard not to root for a player like Evans, the one who does everything he's asked for up and down the lineup and in any situation. Kent Hughes and the Canadiens should think long and hard before letting Evans go as a free agent this off-season. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains] Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens
