MONTREAL — Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson have bounced back in a big way after facing their share of doubters last season.
And they’re doing it together.
As the games get tougher, the veteran third line is playing a key role with the Montreal Canadiens chasing a playoff spot for the first time in four years.
Gallagher had a goal and an assist in a dominant 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Dvorak also scored, and while Anderson didn’t make the scoresheet, he laid the body with five hits and made an impact every time he touched the ice in the heated rivalry matchup.
“This style of hockey really suits our game,” Gallagher said. “It's just a forechecking, simplistic style of game that we're committing to, and we're getting results right now.”
“We're just trying to do everything we can to help the team win hockey games,” Anderson added.
The trio has combined for 13 goals in the last 10 games, including five from Dvorak, who scored his 11th of the season Thursday.
"They've been, honestly, probably our most consistent line all year,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “They've probably played the most minutes together, and you can see the chemistry with all three of them. They really set the tone for us, they're all really key parts for our team."
Anderson, 30, told reporters at the end of last season that he “sucked” during a difficult campaign. The 29-year-old Dvorak had a slow start to 2023-24 before missing most of the season with a pectoral injury.
Gallagher, who’s 32, also struggled out of the gate before turning things around, but all three players heard noise about not living up to their contracts.
The line makes a combined US$16.45 million per season. Lately, they’ve justified that wage.
"They were motivated to come into this season and give their best,” Suzuki said. “They've definitely done that and been a big part of where we are in the standings. All three of them go out there, do their job every single night and lead by example, and they're getting rewarded for it right now."
The Canadiens retained the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot and distanced themselves from some challenges with the win.
Montreal has 81 points in 75 games, ahead of the New York Rangers (79 in 75) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (77 in 74), with an 11-4-4 record since the 4 Nations break.
Gallagher — in his 13th season with the Canadiens — is eager to be part of a Montreal playoff run once again after three seasons of rebuilding.
“It's just been so long and so much work to get to this point, you want to take advantage of it,” he said. “Being older guys, it does mean a lot. You don't know how many opportunities you get, and you want to take advantage of every single one.”
Anderson believes they’re already getting a taste of the playoff atmosphere. Rowdy crowds and “Olé, Olé, Olé” have been heard often at the Bell Centre in recent weeks.
“Once you get in, there's always a chance, and that's what we're trying to do right now,” he said. “Any team that comes into the Bell Centre right now, it feels like a playoff game too.
“It's really encouraging for our team right now. Just got to keep winning games.”
80 FOR SUZUKI
Suzuki became the first Canadien to reach the 80-point mark since Alex Kovalev in 2007-08. Suzuki out-waited Henri Jokiharju on a 2-on-1 before setting up Cole Caufield with a beautiful feed to collect his 80th point before adding his 81st with the empty-netter.
One more point and Suzuki is a point-per-game player, something Canadiens fans have begged for repeatedly in recent years.
“Something that everyone kind of wanted from the outside, the point-per-game player,” he said. “In the future, we'll probably have a bunch."
Does Suzuki remember Kovalev?
"I remember him in the all-star games a lot, doing tricks with his feet,” he said. “I always practised that.”
BAD BRUINS
The short-handed Bruins extended their winless streak to 10 games (0-9-1) for the first time since 2009-10. They also lost for the seventh consecutive game in regulation, which hadn’t happened since 1996-97.
Boston remained last in the East, one point behind the Buffalo Sabres.
“The other teams are just hungrier than us,” defenceman Nikita Zadorov said. “They wanna win more, that's the bottom line, we’re just not hard on the puck, we're easy to play against.
“We lost 10 in a row. There's a lot of things going wrong there.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
