It looks like one of gritty veterans for the Montreal Canadiens is going to miss a few games.
On Friday, the NHL Department of Player Safety revealed that forward Brendan Gallagher will have a hearing for his hit on New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech.
The incident happened during the third period of Thursday night’s game, when Gallagher caught Pelech with an elbow to the blueliner’s head.
Gallagher was immediately assessed a match penalty. The Islanders’ ended up scoring twice on the power play, but a late goal from Sean Monahan gave the Canadiens a 4-3 win over Patrick Roy’s new team.
According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the hearing will be over the phone, which means the max suspension would be five games.
Despite always playing on the edge throughout his 12-year NHL career, Gallagher has never been suspended. He was fined $2,500 in November 2021, when he sucker punched New York Rangers’ forward Barclay Goodrow.
In 48 games this season, Gallagher has scored eight goals and eight assists. In 723 career games, all with Montreal, he has registered 210 goals and 201 assists, including 31 points in 71 playoff games.
The hit is concerning for Pelech, given that the Islanders’ defenseman was out for over a month, missing 20 games with an upper-body injury. In 25 games thus far, the 29-year-old has just four assists to his name. In 467 games, Pelech has notched 25 goals and 103 assists.
The Habs (20-21-7) are set to visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. They are currently sixth in the Atlantic Division, 10 points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for third, and eight points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who hold the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders (20-17-11) are fourth in the Metropolitan Division, five points back of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers. With a looming matchup with the Florida Panthers on Thursday, they are four points behind the Wings.
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