Before Game 4, it was Serge Savard \u2014 winner of seven Stanley Cups \u2014 who carried the torch into the Bell Centre ahead of a 3-2 Lightning victory that evened the best-of-seven series 2-2.<\/p>\n
Game 5 was in Tampa Wednesday night and it was Brendan Gallagher who carried the torch \u2014 figuratively \u2014 into Benchmark International Arena.<\/p>\n
After being a healthy scratch for the first four games of the series, head coach Martin St. Louis put Gallagher in the lineup in place of rookie Oliver Kapanen and the 33-year-old responded by opening the scoring at 3:00 of the first period. <\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/435844_shad_07_sp_lite043026_302854179.jpg\")
Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) scores against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) as Canadiens centre Phillip Danault (24), Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak (81), left, and Canadiens centre Alex Newhook (15), right, and Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Ryan McDonagh (27), top right, join the play during the first period of Game 5 of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday, April 29, 2026 in Tampa. Dirk Shadd \/ Tampa Bay Times<\/p>\n
It was a typical \u201cGally goal\u201d as he went hard to the net and banged in a loose puck after a shot from Alex Newhook, who was on his line along with Phillip Danault. The Canadiens would go on to win 3-2 and will have a chance to clinch the series with a victory in Game 6 Friday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).<\/p>\n
Gallagher, the oldest and longest-serving member of the Canadiens in his 14th season, definitely provided a spark Wednesday night. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s not a Canadiens legend like Cournoyer and Savard \u2014 both Hall of Famers \u2014 but Gallagher has become a legend for Montreal fans too young to know what it was like when the Stanley Cup parade took \u201cthe usual route\u201d on Ste-Catherine St.<\/p>\n
Gallagher has definitely lost a step and his body is banged up from the price he\u2019s willing to pay to score Gally goals. But the effort level remains off the charts and Gallagher gave everything he had once again during his team-low 6:48 of ice time Wednesday night. His teammates gave him the wolf-head hat as player of the game.<\/p>\n
The closest Gallagher has ever come to winning a Stanley Cup was 2021, when the Canadiens lost to the Lightning in the final, and he realizes his career is nearing an end with one more season left on his contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I come to this rink, I remember that feeling,\u201d Gallagher told Sportsnet\u2019s Kyle Bukauskas in a post-game interview Wednesday night about losing the 2021 Cup final in Game 5 on Tampa ice.<\/p>\n
![\"Brendan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1327565486_85348014.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Brendan Gallagher and head coach Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning shake hands following the Lightning\u2019s 1-0 victory in Game 5 to win the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final on July 7, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images files<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that sticks with you and, regardless of what happens, something you\u2019ll never forget. Walking in, it goes through your mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like it,\u201d Gallagher added about the playoffs. \u201cThat\u2019s why we play. It\u2019s never going to be easy. Obviously, you\u2019re tasked with different challenges throughout your career. It was just nice to be back in the lineup and find a way to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier also scored for the Canadiens, who have a 3-2 series lead despite getting no offensive production five-on-five from captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky through five games. Suzuki has no goals in the series, while Caufield has one power-play goal and Slafkovsky has three power-play goals, all in Game 1.<\/p>\n
St. Louis broke up his No. 1 line for Game 5, putting Josh Anderson with Suzuki and Caufield, and Slafkovsky with Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov. Suzuki had no shots on goal, Caufield had one and Slafkovsky had three. But the Canadiens still found a way to win \u2014 like they\u2019ve done all season.<\/p>\n
Gallagher now has one more five-on-five goal in this series than Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky combined. But the Canadiens are one win away from moving on to the second round, thanks in large part to rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, who made 38 saves in Game 5 and now has a .903 save percentage in the series, compared to the .880 save percentage for the Lightning\u2019s Andrei Vasilevskiy. <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/435844_shad_42_sp_lite043026_302855671.jpg\")
Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) watches as the puck slides through the crease as Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli (71), left, and Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson (8) along with Tampa Bay Lightning centre Jake Guentzel (59) join the play in the final minutes of the third period in Game 5 of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday, April 29, 2026 in Tampa. Dirk Shadd \/ Tampa Bay Times<\/p>\n
The Lightning outshot the Canadiens 40-24 in Game 5, including 17-6 in the third period.<\/p>\n
Gallagher had only one shot on goal, but he made it count. After finishing his post-game interview with Bukauskas, Gallagher was mobbed by his teammates. The young players on this team look up to him like a younger generation of Canadiens players used to look up to Cournoyer and Savard.<\/p>\n
During Gallagher\u2019s rookie season with the Canadiens in 2012-13, Cournoyer was asked what he thought about him as a player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0love\u00a0his style of playing for his team,\u201d Cournoyer\u00a0said. \u201cHe\u2019s there every night and he shows the same thing every game. That\u2019s an ideal player for a coach. You don\u2019t have to worry about that guy. It\u2019s a dream for a coach to have a player like Gallagher \u2014 no matter where you put him, no matter his assignment or his linemates, he\u2019ll do his job to\u00a0the best\u00a0of his ability, doesn\u2019t care about the beating he takes and he doesn\u2019t complain.\u201d<\/p>\n
After 14 seasons, that hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n
The young Canadiens players barely know who Cournoyer and Savard are. Gallagher, in a way, is their link to the team\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, you learn and you\u2019re still learning the names (of the legends) and all that stuff is so important about playing here,\u201d Gallagher said before this series started. \u201cYou have to understand it. You have to understand the history and the tradition and why being a Montreal Canadien is so special. I think as these kids get older, they\u2019ll learn more and more about it, which is cool and special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallagher is the one passing the torch on to them.<\/p>\n