Earlier in the day on Wednesday. Marc Bergevin had put Brendan Gallagher on LTIR, meaning that he will be out for at least the upcoming six weeks. A few hours later, it was time for the Montreal Canadiens to play their first game since the injuries to both Gallagher and Carey Price were announced. This effectively meant lineup change duty for Dominique Ducharme, who placed Jesperi Kotkaniemi on Phillip Danault’s right wing and Jake Allen between the pipes.
Toronto started with ferocity, and the often lethal Auston Matthews buried the first goal of the evening, his league-leading 28th of the season, with less than a minute played.