MTL@PIT: Bittersweet milestone

PITTSBURGH -- For the second time in as many games, Brendan Gallagher hit an impressive career milestone with the Habs.

Five days ago, a pair of goals against the Red Wings made Gallagher a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his career during an otherwise tough season.
On Saturday, it was a pair of assists that propelled him to 50-point status and beyond.

"I mean, I said it when he got his 30th goal, but he's a guy who works hard and he's getting rewarded this year," dished defenseman Jeff Petry, who was the beneficiary of Gallagher's initial helper, scoring the game's opening goal at 8:42 in the first period. "He's a guy who deserves it, because he goes to the tough areas and plays that gritty game, so it's good to see him rewarded."
The Habs' only other goalscorer in the 5-2 loss, Jonathan Drouin, likewise had praise for the Canadiens' assistant captain.
"Gally just dropped it to Chucky [Alex Galchenyuk], and Chucky brought everyone to him and made a nice feed across," described Drouin of the play which set up his goal, a top-corner beauty wired past Matt Murray which cut the Pittsburgh lead to 3-2 in second, before the Penguins pulled away in the third. "He's had a great year, and he's been one of our top players all year round. Just the way he plays, he gets those points around the net, and off rebounds -- all those quick little plays."

With another multipoint game on Saturday, Gallagher now has four goals and three assists totaling seven points in his last five outings, and is looking good on a line with Drouin and Paul Byron.
"They're two guys who play hard and play the game the right way," explained Drouin, whose line finished the game with a positive differential, despite the five goals against. "With Pauly's speed and the way Gally's been playing this year, [...] it's been going well. When we're playing five-on-five, we like our game and we like our tempo."
At five-on-four meanwhile…
As much as Gallagher's play has been a bright spot for the Habs this season, the team's 31st-ranked penalty kill has been its achilles heel.
On Saturday, the Canadiens gave up three power play goals on five opportunities -- the difference in the contest.
"Five on five we were good enough. We also got more shots and created more chances in the second period, but when you start taking penalties against a team that's so skilled -- one of the top power plays in the league -- they're going to end up putting the puck in the net at some point, and they did that tonight," concluded Drouin.