(Boston) Brendan Gallagher intends to make amends for his evening on Thursday. It feels good; he will have the chance to play in his favorite amphitheater on the road.
The Canadian and the Bruins reconnect this Saturday evening in Boston. Last Saturday, the two old rivals fought a constant battle, won by the CH. Battle in which Gallagher was a main actor by disturbing the opposing goalkeeper, Jeremy Swayman.
“We’ve faced them so many times, there’s a history that precedes us and we want to add to it. We feel it from the fans, from the teams. When we face them, they are always good matches, between two teams proud of their traditions,” said Gallagher on Saturday morning, during a meeting with the media at the hotel where the Habs are staying.
There is no doubt that the always high-energy atmosphere at TD Garden will bring out Gallagher’s competitive streak. But the latter has another reason for wanting to play “a big one”. On Thursday, he had his worst outing of the season. He already had a differential of -2 when he received a four-minute penalty at the end of the match, with the score 4-4. The Golden Knights scored two goals during the ensuing power play to escape with the victory.
Gallagher sometimes rails against the officials’ work, but not this time. “I reached it. I can not complain. I need to be smarter with my bat,” he admitted.
To add to his misfortune, this match took place under the eyes of his father, and the fathers of his teammates, since their fathers were invited to Thursday’s game at the Bell Center, and now on the road in Boston.
“It was a tough night for me. [My father] told me it happens, but to make sure it doesn’t happen to me again. I’ve been in the league long enough, I understand that nights like this can happen. The idea is to make sure that it doesn’t spill over into other matches. »
Criticizing Gallagher after the match (“That can’t happen”), Martin St-Louis sought to calm things down. “He made a play to try to help the team at that moment. But the punishment isn’t all his fault, he was trying to correct what happened before. There is too much emphasis on that, argued the head coach.
“He doesn’t take laziness penalties. These are penalties from a guy who is competing. Tonight, I want us to compete, and I would like us not to take any penalties. But it’s a very thin line. As a coach, you have to be careful not to hold guys back too much, otherwise, are you going to have enough competition? It’s a Saturday in Boston, there will be emotion, but you have to be a thermostat, not a thermometer. »
Jake Allen will defend the Montreal net, and on defense, Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj will reverse roles. Harris will return to the lineup after a two-game absence to treat an injury, and Xhekaj replaces him in the infirmary, possibly injured in a shoulder.
In the absence of Xhekaj and David Savard, CH will therefore be deprived of its two strongest defenders, at 240 and 238 lbs, respectively. Johnathan Kovacevic, at 223 lbs, will therefore be the strongest of a sextet which will have an average weight of 201 lbs. For comparison, the brigade deployed for the first game of the season showed an average weight of 214.5 lbs.
“You have to defend yourself with structure, with your reading of the game, with your feet,” St-Louis said. You have to win your battles. Our less robust players win their battles differently. Jordan’s strategy will be different from Xhekaj’s strategy, but the result must be the same, you must win your battle. »
Whatever happens, the Canadian will look to bounce back after a defeat on Thursday that was certainly close (6-5), but whose score poorly illustrated the domination of Vegas. The task is not easy against the Bruins who have still not lost in 60 minutes at home (6-0-1).
“It’s an opportunity to correct ourselves, against a really good team playing at home, and do something that no one has done yet this year, beat them at home,” insisted the coach.
