Why The Habs Need Brendan Gallagher In The Lineup

Gallagher may not have the speed he once had, but he plays a hard-nosed game that can help drag some of his teammates into the fight. Even at this point in his career, when his body has slowed down, Gallagher has refused to change his game, and it showed in the final regular-season game against the Flyers that he still has more left to give if he’s well-rested. It’s been 9 days since that matchup, and he would surely have enough to give the Habs a spark in the lineup for the next few games. 

At the very least, Gallagher can help give much-needed energy to others by being on the bench while also playing sheltered minutes on home ice on the 4th line. He could help the team as a whole by going out there and working his tail off every single shift, as despite his 5’9″ and 175 lbs, he has never played a single minute scared on the ice, and the heart he shows will be better than having a struggling player like Kirby Dach, who can’t seem to make any of the right decisions at the moment.

By having Gallagher in the lineup for a game or two, it could also benefit Dach, who has been really struggling since returning from an injury, to take a step back and watch the game closely to see how he needs to play to stay in the lineup. It’s very likely that Dach is still a little scared to get hurt, and that’s why he rushes with the puck rather than make the right plays when he’s tired. He’s not the only one that is making similar mistakes to him, but unlike him, they are making things happen.

For example, Ivan Demidov made a mistake by icing the puck a few feet from the red line, but he is still a rookie, and he makes a good play to cancel out that play. Unfortunately, with Dach’s situation, he wasn’t even really near centre ice when he iced it, and then he proceeded to be in a bad position on the game winner. Some people may say that Dach should play the next game to prove himself, but it seems to happen too often with him. Maybe they can try the approach of having him watch a playoff game from the press box to see if he can figure out what he needs to do.

It’s like Pierre McGuire said on Tuesday night’s Sick Podcast post-game show with Tony Marinaro: Dach isn’t 5’10”; he’s 6’4″. There is no reason that he should be afraid of making the right play to avoid a hit. If he were to rush his plays, there are two players, Gallagher and Joe Veleno, that would certainly do a better job than him on the ice. The fact that Gallagher brings more experience is what gives him the edge in my book.

Even though the series is tied 1-1, a lineup shakeup after Tuesday night’s overtime loss seems like a good idea, and adding experience in Gallagher can be exactly what the Habs need for the next few games at home.