MONTREAL -- Brendan Gallagher and the Montreal Canadiens believe they can come back and win their Eastern Conference First Round best-of-7 series against the Washington Capitals.
Montreal faces elimination in Game 5 at Capital One Arena in Washington on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, ESPN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC). It trails 3-1 in the series after a 5-2 loss at Bell Centre on Sunday.
"We're resilient,” Gallagher said Monday. "I'm sure we've been counted out by people outside our locker room more than once this year, so this situation is going to be no different. We've gone through some tough stretches as a group, we've responded the way we've needed to respond, and this is no different. We're facing the same challenge.
"And the task can seem pretty daunting when you look at the big picture, but small picture, you've got to go on the road and win one game, completely flip the momentum. You do that and you start to plant a little bit of doubt in their mind, and you go from there.”
Gallagher is one of six Canadiens players who was part of their surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. That postseason journey began with a first-round upset of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who held a 3-1 series lead before Montreal won three straight.
Forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson, Jake Evans and Joel Armia remain from that team four years later. The Canadiens will have to accomplish the same feat against the Capitals, the No. 1 seed in the East.