Brendan Gallagher scores first goal in nearly two months

This morning, my colleague Mathis Therrien reported that Brendan Gallagher was on a goal-scoring tear. In fact, Gally hadn’t found the back of the net since November 11, almost two months ago.

Obviously, this was beginning to weigh heavily on his shoulders.

Tonight, however, Gallagher took advantage of his team’s clash with the Rangers to put an end to this major slump: in the very first period, he found the back of the net against the Rangers.

And no, we’re not talking about a Gally-style goal: he scored with a good wrist shot.

And when you look at his reaction to his goal, you can tell it did him a world of good.

A first goal in 25 games for Brendan Gallagher pic.twitter.com/EmydErZdyZ

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) January 7, 2024

Gallagher understandably let out a big cheer after his goal: for a guy who’s had 30-goal seasons in the past, not finding the back of the net for almost two months must have started to weigh heavily on his shoulders.

Now, let’s hope he can build on this for success in future games.

It’s also good news to see him score a goal from a free kick. We know he’s more accustomed to scoring by setting up in front of the net and having to work hard to score, but he’s capable of unleashing good shots. And tonight, he reminded everyone of that.

A fine goal from Gallagher, then, which puts an end to a fairly long period of inactivity for Gally. Let’s hope his next goal doesn’t come in early March.

Extension

As Grant McCagg notes, Gallagher is usually a sequential scorer.

We’ll see if tonight’s goal allows him to catch fire for the next few games.

Really happy to see Gallagher snipe one. He’s been playing well lately, and has a tendency to score in bunches. Hope he gets hot so that the critiques cool off.

– Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) January 7, 2024