he needs to focus on scoring. not on being a knob so muchBrendan Gallagher: Can he bounce back?
Probably not.
I think he can play well for a few more seasons but he completely disappears when the playoffs starts. My issue and concern is not the regular season but during the playoffs.
It's fine to play with grit and heart but a 4th line grinder can do that. At 6,5m I expect him to score and produce. His production ever since the Rangers series in 2014 has been awful.
and now we pay himHe's looks battered, bruised and there's no gas left in the tank.
No doubt.His line is facing some of the toughest playoff minutes ever recorded. Calm the **** down.
It's tough to produce when put in a shutdown role with linemates that are offensive black holes.
He’s been with offensive black holes since the Rangers series in 2014?
The offensive black holes are holding him down when he’s getting countless PP opportunities?
hIs LiNeMatEs SuCk OfFeNsIveLy after he scored 30 goals multiple times with Danault as his center lol.
Regular season Gally is also superior to playoff Gally and Tatar. A 30 goalscorer is supposed to find a way to keep producing and not turn into a 4th liner.Regular season is quite different. Roles aren't defined so concretely. Matchups aren't adhered to as strictly.
He also scored 30 goals with Tatar as the other winger. Regular season Tatar is superior to playoff Tatar and to Lekhonen or Evans.
Yes.
Gallagher isn't on the 1st PP unit. Further, he's never really been a strong PP contributor.
I'll also add that his offense hasn't been nearly as lackluster as you seem to be claiming.
2015: 5 points in 12 games; as compared to 47 in 82 regular season games. (0.42 vs 0.57 -- given sample size & lower scoring in playoffs, that's in line)
2017: 3 points in 6 games; as compared to 29 in 64 regular season games (production in line with regular season)
2020: 4 points in 9 games; as compared to 43 in 59 regular season games
So it's really 2020 and 2021 -- and not "since 2014" as you claimed. And Gallagher has been stuck with Danault these last two playoff years, in exclusively shut-down roles. If Montreal were built as a modern day team and not a late '90s style team, Gallagher wouldn't be in a shut-down role and his offense wouldn't be sacrificed so severely. I don't like this approach to roster management that Ducharme/Bergevin seem to favour but, hey, the team's in the Finals. I just wouldn't say that Gallagher's struggling given the role he's been assigned and the team's strategy that has been imposed on him.
He’s got 7 goals in his last 56 playoffs games (since 2014). I expect him to score goals and it just hasn’t been here. You just got 3 years where his production dipped during the playoffs (2015,2020,2021) With all the hype he gets around here I expect him to raise his game during the playoffs. People want him captain of this team but he can’t even step it up when it matters the most.
It’s no coincidence to me why Ducharme put him in a shutdown role. He’s not producing and even if he was given a more offensive role I doubt he would have produced. His shot selection is horrible, he has average speed and can barely make a pass. Nothing in his play currently indicates that he would produce in a more offensive role.
My point I was making with the PP comment is that at least he’s still getting some prime chances to produce. He’s been given some opportunities that his “offensive blackhole” line mates aren’t being given and he still can’t produce when he’s away from them.
People lose their minds at Danault for not producing even though he's the main guy helping out defensively yet it's ok for Gally (the substantially better offensive player) to not produce?I think you need to be a little more nuanced than simply looking at raw production.