If a player had to shoot the puck to be credited with a goal, Brendan Gallagher figures he would have six fewer goals than his statistics show.
Which means he’d have none.
“I was telling Fleisch (teammate Tomas Fleischmann) after the game that I don’t think I’ve actually shot and beat a goalie this year. But I’ll take it,” Gallagher said with his ever-present grin after the Canadiens’ hard-fought 4-1 win Thursday over the New York Islanders.
“It’s kind of what I’ve been used to my whole life. When you’re going through spurts where you’re not putting the puck in, I always try to get back there and keep it simple and it seems to be working for me.”
The Canadiens were up 2-1, having taken their second lead of the night 6:22 into the third period on David Desharnais’s goal, when Gallagher parked himself in front of Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak.
What a surprise.
Montreal Canadiens Dale Weise, 2nd from right celebrates his first period goal against the New York Islanders with team-mates Alex Galchenyuk, P.K. Subban and David Desharnais during National Hockey League game in Montreal Thursday November 5, 2015.
It’s unclear where Max Pacioretty’s shot from just behind the faceoff circle struck Gallagher, the captain having cut sharply in from the half-wall to shoot, but it clipped him sufficiently to have the puck drop behind Halak with just enough velocity to cross the goal line.
Indeed, the puck never made it to the back of the net.
Gallagher’s goal ended a three-game points drought. It surely was a bit of weight off the shoulders of Pacioretty, who had been held off the scoresheet for the past five; for Plekanec, the second assist on the goal was his first point after two blank games.
Plekanec would ice the game with an empty-goal with 2:03 left on the clock, assisted by Gallagher and Pacioretty.
“It was nice to contribute, nice for the line,” Gallagher said. “We just tried to stick with it. If we keep getting chances, eventually it will go in. We found a way to get one and hopefully it will kick-start us. But obviously we’re not going to change anything.”
And therein lies the secret for an offensive player or line when the output evaporates — stick with what gave you success in the first place.
For Gallagher, that means going to the net and camping out while he’s hammered like a tent peg.
Montreal Canadiens Brendan Gallagher deflects the puck past New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak during National Hockey League game in Montreal Thursday November 5, 2015.
Sometimes it works, sometimes he’s bruised with nothing to show for it but purple skin.
“That’s my game, that’s where I have to be to be successful,” Gallagher said. “It’s the only way I can play. I have to keep going back there. Sometimes you get bounces, sometimes you don’t. But night after night I just try to get there and tonight it worked out.”
With goaltending interference now being called should a goalie’s jersey so much as blow in the breeze of a passing forward, Gallagher knows he’s walking a tightrope when he bulls his way to the front of the net, defencemen happy to nudge him into the goalie with an eye to drawing a penalty.
“You have to have a certain awareness on the ice,” he said. “It’s hard with all the plays going on, so I try to talk to the refs before they see me getting close, (have them) holler at me and give me a little notice. It sucks when you get a goal disallowed that should have counted.”
Plekanec had a goal waved off Tuesday against Ottawa when Gallagher was ruled to have made contact with Senators goalie Craig Anderson. For a moment Thursday, Halak looked toward the referee in the corner, but there was no question this goal, as ugly as it was, was good.
New York Islanders Brock Nelson collides with Montreal Canadiens goalie Mike Condon during third period of National Hockey League game in Montreal Thursday November 5, 2015.
“I haven’t changed anything,” Gallagher said of his style of play. “I’m here for a reason — to play a certain way. I can’t change that or I’m not a very good player. Sometimes, (a penalty) is going to happen but I have to get in there and do all the things I’ve done and hopefully get the same results.”
He knew that would mean a little pain on this night, the rugged Islanders averaging 206 pounds; Gallagher is listed at 184.
So it was fun to see him, and l’il Davey, bag the Canadiens’ second and third goals from close range, Desharnais cashing a lovely pass from Fleischmann with a little interference help from a linesman who inadvertently started the play at the blue line.
“Talk to Davey and he’ll say the same thing: we’ve played our whole lives being the smallest players on the ice,” Gallager said, grinning again. “It doesn’t really change anything. You don’t look at the lineup, it’s just another game and you do everything you do. If you win your battles, it makes size a non-factor.”
Montreal Canadiens Dale Weise, left, passes the puck while being knocked down by New York Islanders Mikhail Grabovski during National Hockey League game in Montreal Thursday November 5, 2015.
So the 12-2-1 Canadiens add another one in the win column, their two mighty mites scoring the game-winner and insurance goals.
“We just stuck with our game plan,” Gallagher said. “We trusted it and we knew if we did it over and over again, we’d get results.”
And what about sniper Dale Weise, who notched his team-leading eighth goal of the season to open the scoring?
“We’re staying away from him,” Gallagher joked. “He’s hot, so we’re trying to eat what he’s eating in the morning.”
