As the Montreal Canadiens want to continue staving off removal at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, theyll have to do so without one of their most important players in advance.
It was announced Thursday that Habs forward Brendan Gallagher suffered a damaged jaw throughout Game 5 on Wednesday night and he will require to undergo surgical treatment to fix the injury. That surgery will require Gallagher to leave the Toronto bubble and miss the rest of the teams opening round series versus the Flyers..
Gallagher suffered the injury with about 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd duration of Game 5 when Flyers defenseman Matt Niskanen delivered a cross-check to Gallaghers face..
Gallagher appeared to be stunned by the cross-check and stayed seated on the ice for a moment. As he began bleeding from the mouth, he interested the referees for a penalty call however no call was made. As he headed to the bench for repair work, it became increasingly apparent that Niskanens check did some real damage to Gallaghers mouth.
Gallagher stayed in the video game and played the rest of the third period. The Canadiens won the video game 5-3 to avoid removal and cut the series deficit to 3-2.
Its possible Gallagher could return to the group if the Canadiens survive and are able to advance to the 2nd round. He would need to go through a quarantine period upon re-entering the bubble.
While Niskanens cross-check wasnt punished on the ice, the NHLs Department of Player Safety revealed Thursday that the veteran defenseman would be suspended for the event and will miss Game 6.
Gallaghers lack could be significant loss for the Canadiens moving on. He co-led the group in goals (22) this season in spite of only playing in 59 games. In Montreals 3 losses to Philadelphia in the series, the Canadiens have actually scored a combined overall of one objective..
