BROSSARD, Quebec -- Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien was looking for a way to get David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty going offensively.
It was mid-November and the Canadiens forwards were having difficult starts to the 2013-14 season. Desharnais had one assist in his first 19 games, and Therrien made him a healthy scratch on Nov. 5 and Nov. 12. Pacioretty had two goals and two assists in 12 games, well below his normal standards.
Their struggles were mitigated by the strong play of the line of Lars Eller between two second-year players, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher. In their first 21 games together, they combined to score 19 goals with 22 assists.
But Therrien knew the Canadiens needed to get Pacioretty and Desharnais going or the season likely would be going nowhere. So the coach made the difficult decision to remove Gallagher from the Eller line and placed him with Desharnais and Pacioretty.
In their first game together, Nov. 19 against the Minnesota Wild, Pacioretty got a hat trick and Desharnais and Gallagher each had two assists in a 6-2 Canadiens victory.
A new top line was born.