The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Brendan Gallagher will be out indefinitely after a collision in Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Claude Julien confirms Brendan Gallagher has a concussion. Out indefinitely.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 2, 2020
Gallagher's placement on IR is retroactive to Tuesday, Dec. 31. Meaning the soonest we'll see him is next Tuesday…Habs play Lightning tonight, Penguins Saturday, Jets Monday, Wings Tuesday.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 2, 2020
Canadiens to be Without Brendan Gallagher
Gallagher sustained the injury after taking a hit from Jordan Staal. As Gallagher was falling he collided with the knee of Habs defenceman Ben Chiarot. Chiarot’s knee hit Gallagher square in the face and the feisty forward stayed down for quite some time. Gallagher eventually got to his feet and skated off under his own power. He did not return to the game.
In 40 games this season, Gallagher has scored 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points. This puts him second on the team in both goals and points behind Tomas Tatar.
Gallagher was originally drafted by the Canadiens in the fifth round, 147th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Another Day, Another Injury for the Habs
The Habs have seemed to have caught the injury bug as they lose yet another forward to injury. You can add Gallagher to the long list of forwards that are out of the lineup. That list also includes Jonathan Drouin, Joel Armia and Paul Byron. All these players are extremely important to the Canadiens offence and both Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia were playing their best hockey since arriving in Montreal. As if the Canadiens’ depth was not already being test enough, the toughest test is yet to come with the absence of Gallagher.
Gallagher is such an important piece of the Habs lineup as he gives 110% every single shift. He also sparks a lot of the offence for his team with his hard-nosed play. His shoes are impossible to fill in the lineup. Expect young forwards Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling to be leaned upon more as one of them will certainly move into the top six for the Canadiens.
The Habs’ next game will be on Thursday night as they play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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