Brendan Gallagher is the talk of the NHL at the moment after a dangerous and nasty hit on Adam Pelech in Thursday night’s game between the Canadiens and the Islanders.
Pelech skated through the neutral zone with 8:10 left in the third period, and no puck was nearby. Brendan Gallagher came skating towards the defenseman and caught him with an elbow to the face.
Pelech left for the dressing room and didn’t return to the game. Gallagher was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for an elbow to the head.
The Islanders went on to score twice on the power play but still lost 4-3. Post-game, everyone on social media was absolutely furious about Gallagher’s hit, with many claiming it has no part in today’s hockey.
It’s not often fans all agree about hits or calls in the NHL, but this time, everyone said the exact same thing: That Gallagher deserves a really long suspension for the hit.
And it wasn’t just fans who called for the NHL to suspend Gallagher.
Even his former teammate, P.K. Subban, who played with Gallagher in Montreal from 2012-16, called him out on social media, calling it ”inexcusable.”
“It’s a great game, everything is good, and then there’s this play,” said Subban. “It’s not a hockey play. It’s not a collision in the corner. It’s not a battle for the puck. This is a guy skating the puck through the middle of the ice, and Gallagher throws his elbow right into his chin.
“I don’t know how else I’m supposed to call that, but to me those are the hits that we just can’t have. That’s just inexcusable. There’s no upside.”
Subban even acknowledged that he called out a former teammate but still claimed he deserves a five-game suspension for it.
“To see a game like this that’s been so good, to have something like that, Player Safety can’t be happy with that,” Subban said about the hit.
“I gotta call it consistent and I have to call it that way no matter who it is. I don’t want to see hits like this in the game and Player Safety has got to step up.”
