Canadiens veteran Gallagher to possibly enter lineup in Game 5 against Lightning

Montreal Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher (11) reacts as he is acknowledged for his 900th NHL game during first period NHL hockey action against the Boston Bruins in Montreal on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

TAMPA — Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis won’t tip his hand during the playoffs, but all signs point to Brendan Gallagher re-entering the lineup Wednesday night.

The veteran winger did not take part in the Canadiens’ optional morning skate hours before Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, often an indicator a player could be dressing.

Rookie forward Oliver Kapanen, meanwhile, took the ice alongside Montreal’s extras after logging a team-low 7:32 in Game 4.

“There’s no doubt if he plays, he’s going to give you everything he has,” St. Louis said at the team hotel moments after media members at Benchmark International Arena reported Gallagher’s practice absence.

Gallagher, 33, has been a healthy scratch through the first four games of the series, continuing a pattern from late in the regular season.

Amid a difficult campaign, the longest-serving Canadien was scratched for the first time since his rookie season in 2012-13 on March 14 against the San Jose Sharks. He returned to the lineup as the Canadiens worked through injuries but missed four additional games as a healthy scratch down the stretch.

“Everybody goes through different challenges throughout the end of their career,” St. Louis said. “But the fact that you’ve had those challenges is actually a privilege because it shows how long you’ve been around.”

A heart-and-soul player known for crashing the crease, Gallagher wears an “A” on his sweater and has played his entire 14-year career for the Canadiens since being drafted in 2010, registering 487 points in 911 games.

The five-foot-nine, 185-pound forward produced only seven goals and 16 assists across 77 games this season while averaging a career low 12:21 of ice time.

Sophomore forward Zachary Bolduc said Gallagher has remained engaged despite not playing, lending advice to younger players.

And if he does draw in, Bolduc expects his usual energetic impact.

“Gally has done it his whole career. He’s annoying to play against. He’s a guy who’s not afraid to go to the net, and he’s a competitor,” he said. “Even in practice, sometimes you go in a 1-on-1 battle, and you realize he’s there to play and he won’t give you a chance, even if it’s a practice.

“We don’t know the lineup yet for tonight, but we’ll see what happens.”

The Canadiens and Lightning are tied at two games apiece in the best-of-seven matchup after Tampa Bay rallied for a 3-2 win Sunday night in Montreal. The series will return to the Bell Centre for Game 6 on Friday.

A Gallagher-Kapanen swap would likely force further line adjustments. Kapanen has played with Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov on the second line, somewhere Gallagher hasn’t played all season.

Neither that second line nor the Canadiens’ top trio of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky has produced a goal at 5-on-5 this series.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press