Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher suffered a broken jaw from a cross-check by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Matt Niskanen on Wednesday night, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Thursday.
Gallagher’s injury requires surgery, which will force him to leave the bubble in Toronto. He won’t play in the remainder of Montreal’s series against Philadelphia.
Gallagher suffered the injury late in the third period of Game 5 when he and Niskanen were battling in the corner and the Flyers blue-liner hit Gallagher with the cross-check. Gallagher’s mouth was bloodied by the check and he had to be attended to on the bench.
Niskanen had a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Thursday after not receiving a penalty on the play. A punishment has yet to be handed out.
The 28-year-old Gallagher has a goal, scored in Wednesday night’s 5-3 win, and four points in Montreal’s nine post-season games since the NHL’s restart earlier this month.
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