Gallagher: 'The hardest game to win is the last one'

MONTREAL - The Canadiens posted a 5-1 win over the Jets on Sunday night at the Bell Centre to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

SHOP: CHic Playoff Line
Following the game, forwards Brendan Gallagher, Joel Armia and Nick Suzuki spoke with reporters via Zoom.
They were followed by interim head coach Dominique Ducharme.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Gallagher on the success of the Armia, Eric Staal and Corey Perry line:
Probably on the board, they're listed fourth, but they're definitely not a fourth line. They're playing big-boy hockey. They've been able to put together such long cycle shifts for us and work the puck down low. They all use their size to their advantage. They know what they are as a line and they just play to their strengths. Playoff hockey has certainly brought out the best in them. They've been awesome for us.

Gallagher on the opportunity to eliminate the Jets on Monday night:
I've been in this League long enough and played in enough playoff series to know that the hardest game to win is the last one. When you get a team up against the ropes, they're usually able to find a little bit of desperation. Nobody wants to go home at this point. You start to get pretty hungry. It's playoff hockey. They're not going to go down without a fight. We know how difficult this is going to be. It's always difficult to put that team away. We were on the other side of it last series. As soon as you get a sliver of hope, the momentum starts to build and they can see it. We don't want to allow them to get into that situation where we let them feel comfortable enough and give them hope. We have the advantage right now, but that can change pretty quickly if our effort changes. We've got to put in another solid effort and find a way to do the same things that led to success tonight.

Armia on playing with Staal and Perry:
I love to play with those two guys. They're really easy to play with. They're really good with the puck in the corners and hanging onto the puck down low. It's a lot of fun playing with those guys. I feel like somehow we're three similar types of players. We're all big boys and everybody can hang onto the puck and do the same kinds of things. They're both great players.

Armia on staying focused with a stranglehold on the series:
That's one thing we kind of learned this year. We just have to bring out the same game that we brought tonight. I don't think there's any reason why we can't do that.

Suzuki on the team's level of confidence after securing a sixth straight victory:
You always feel good when you're winning. It's been a lot of fun coming to the rink and getting to play here, especially. We have a lot of confidence. We just have to keep that going for one more against these guys.

Suzuki on the impact of goaltender Carey Price when leading a game:
We have all the confidence in the world in him. As a team, I think we're playing the right way when we have the lead. We aren't forcing anything and we're putting the puck in good positions. Dom's big on puck management. We've done a great job of that with the lead. It's been a big key for us.

Ducharme on the Habs' performance in Game 3:
I liked the way we played. I liked our start and our consistency from start to finish. We wanted to play better than we did in Game 2. I think we did that.

Ducharme on Price's presence between the pipes when the team has the lead:
He gives our group a lot of confidence. He's playing inspired hockey. But, I thought we were solid tonight, both offensively and defensively. He's a huge part of our team, but I liked the way our players handled themselves in front of him.