Gallagher: 'It's just about getting back to our strengths'

TAMPA - The Canadiens skated at AMALIE Arena ahead of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Lightning.

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After the on-ice session, forward Brendan Gallagher, defenseman Jon Merrill and assistant coach Luke Richardson spoke with reporters via Zoom.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Gallagher on the prediction from some people that the Lightning will easily win this series:
We don't really care. We know what we are as a hockey team and we believe in each other. We believe that when we play the way we need to play, when we play our game, we dictate the style of hockey it is and we can compete with anyone. We've shown that here through three rounds. In Game 1, we got away from that. I don't know if it was the whole being in the Final for the first time thing and maybe trying to do a little bit too much, but we made the game a little easy on them, fed into what they do well, and they took advantage of it. They played a good game. Tonight, it's just about getting back to our strengths and making sure that we're controlling the style of game we're playing.

Gallagher on responding after a tough loss in Game 1:
From my experience in this League, the teams that handle these situations the best are the ones that can really just sit back and simplify the whole situation that you're in, not get overwhelmed by it, not overthink it, and understand that if you win one hockey game, it changes the whole dynamic of the series. All we have to do is be accountable to each other and everyone shows up, and so far in the playoffs, we've been able to do that. With that, comes confidence that we can do it again. It's not like you're putting any extra pressure on yourself or you need to put the team on your back. You just need to do your job and trust that your teammates are going to do theirs. When you have that mindset, we've had success with it so far, so hopefully it continues. There's no reason it shouldn't.

Merrill on Gallagher's ability to inspire his teammates:
Gally's a competitor, through and through. You can see it from the first time you step into the dressing room. He's a guy who drives the bus around here. He's pushing the pace in practice and in the weight room. He's the guy definitely leading the charge when it comes to intensity and bringing that work ethic. When you see a guy like that laying it all out there, and doing whatever he can for this team to win, it's definitely a motivating factor for us.

Merrill on key adjustments for Game 2:
We just have to play tighter as a group. What's got us here is being really together and being really structured defensively. That leads to our offensive chances. Last game, we were a little bit too spread out, and they were having a pretty easy time getting through the neutral zone and getting on the rush. We're just going to stay tight and stay together tonight and work as a five-man unit.

Richardson on delivering a far better performance tonight:
We've got to play a more respectful game to our systems, like managing the puck, playing 200 feet, and our battle level and compete level just has to rise. I'm sure it will. It has in every series. I know the guys are eager to get back and play a better game. Just those three things alone are going to give us a better chance in this game and in this series.

Richardson on winger Joel Armia, who's a game-time decision, along with Jake Evans:
He's had a great playoffs. He's a big body. He holds onto the puck in the offensive zone and gives us more time there. He's got good hands for a big guy. He's a big key part of the penalty-kill with his reach and stick skills. Whenever he gets back in this series, he's going to be a huge help for us because Tampa's very dangerous on the power play. They also kill plays early and like to get going fast on offense, so if we can hold onto that puck and get some time in the offensive zone, and tire them out there, we'll create more chances offensively for ourselves. When Joel gets back in, he's going to be a huge help for us in that respect.