Brendan Gallagher was assessed a match penalty in the third period of Thursday’s game for elbowing New York Islanders defenceman Adam Pelech.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has made the decision to suspend Gallagher for five additional games. This is Gallagher’s first suspension in a 12-year, 723-game NHL career.
The Canadiens were leading the game 3-1 when Gallagher took the penalty at 11:52 of the third period. The Islanders scored twice on the ensuing five-minute power play to tie the game up, before Sean Monahan was able to add a late winning goal for Montreal.
With the Canadiens set for their bye week ahead of next weekend’s NHL All-Star Game, Gallagher won’t be eligible to return until February 15 versus the New York Rangers, what will be a span over two weeks between games.
