Quotes of the day: Chiarot, Petry, Hudon & Muller

TORONTO -- The Canadiens' postseason hopes are still alive after a solid team effort on Wednesday night to make it a 3-2 series in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Nick Suzuki, Joel Armia, and Jonathan Drouin each collected a pair of points in Game 5. Brendan Gallagher notched his first goal of the playoffs, but the talk of the night - and the discussion on Thursday morning -- centered more around the vicious crosscheck to the face Gallagher received from Matt Niskanen.

Here are some of the best quotes from the day:

Interim head coach Kirk Muller has not yet received an update on Gallagher's medical status or whether or not the gritty Habs forward will be available to play in Game 6. The impact Gallagher has on the team is not lost on Muller:

"Well you know how tough he is so I would never count him out. We saw how he had probably the biggest impact of that game last night the way he turned the first shift, the character that guy has, and how hard he played. He's the heartbeat of our team."

Ben Chiarot echoed his coach's assessment of what Gallagher brings on and off the ice:

"[Brendan Gallagher] has been a heart-and-soul guy for this team for a long time. He leads the way with his with his work ethic and how determined he is. He definitely sets the tone for our team. If a guy like that's going to be going that hard, everybody else better match that intensity."

Gallagher wasn't the only player earning accolades on Thursday, as Muller took time to applaud the effort of Jake Evans, who seems to have cemented his place in the postseason lineup:

"This is a great experience for [Jake Evans], playing all these big games. Jake had some time this year but now he's contributing and showing us that you can trust him on the ice in any situation. Two things: he competes, and he's got hockey sense. And with those two things, he knows how to play the game. I have full confidence to use him. He's reliable, he's dependable, and he's been a great asset to our group so far."

Jeff Petry touched on the team-first mentality he saw in the room while facing elimination for the first time in the 2020 postseason:

"I don't think there's anybody in our room that was ready to go home. We proved that last night that we were going to fight and play our game until the end. We knew if we played our game, a solid game, we were going to live to fight another day. We have to have that same approach for the game tomorrow."

Charles Hudon on what he's learned during his time with the team in the bubble:

"I spent time with the Black Aces in Montreal a few years ago when we didn't have the chance to be with the guys who were playing. So I think being here in the bubble being around all the guys, that helps us all. You're part of the team, you're not part of the Black Aces who are just going to the rink to practice or watch in the stands. At least you can be together and chat. For guys like [Alex] Belzile or [Gustav] Olofsson who haven't had a chance to play much this year, to be around guys like Carey Price and Shea Weber, that gives them a boost. And being able to train with them makes all of us better."