NHL Player Safety expected to review cross-check on Canadiens’ Gallagher

Brendan Gallagher would be in rough shape after taking a crosscheck from Matt Niskanen.

The NHL’s department of player safety is expected to review a cross-check that left Montreal Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher bloodied during his team’s Game 5 win Wednesday, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels and Elliotte Friedman.

Late in the third period of the Canadiens’ tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers, Gallagher was battling in the corner before turning around and receiving a cross-check to the mouth from Flyers defender Matt Niskanen.

The cross-check sent Gallagher to the ice, and left the winger later spat blood from the bench. Niskanen did not receive a penalty on the play.

As noted by Engels, the NHL’s policy allows the Canadiens not to divulge any information regarding injury or illness, so there was no word on whether Gallagher had to leave the bubble as a result of any potential injury related to the play.

Engels and TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reported Gallagher may have suffered a more serious injury than lost teeth on the play.

“As [Lavoie] reported, there’s buzz Gallagher suffered a jaw fracture in addition to losing at least one tooth on Matt Niskanen’s cross-check,” Engels said via Twitter. “The play, along with a couple more from this game, is expected to be reviewed by [NHL Player Safety].”

The Canadiens survived elimination with a pivotal win in the Wednesday night meeting, pushing the first-round series to Game 6, set to be played on Friday.

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