BROSSARD, Que. — A thought I had on Saturday, while the Montreal Canadiens were skating six-on-four and chasing down a one-goal deficit in the dying minutes of their 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals: What are Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson thinking watching Joel Armia play instead of them in this pivotal situation?
Not that either of them should be thinking Armia doesn’t deserve to be out there alongside the Canadiens’ best players. The 30-year-old Finn, who started this season in the American Hockey League because he spent too much of the last season-and-a-half not playing remotely up to even limited expectations in the NHL, has been remarkably consistent over the last six weeks. He’s been retrieving pucks and protecting them in both zones, largely staying away from his tendency of taking untimely and needless penalties and playing a big hand in driving whatever limited secondary scoring the team has mustered, and both Gallagher and Anderson know that.
It’s just that, over the course of their respective NHL careers, both of them have been counted on more often than not in these situations — and much more than Armia. They’ve been counted on to hunt down players and pucks and win the battles to extend the offensive pressure you can’t afford to relinquish while precious seconds tick away. They’ve been counted on to drive the puck down to the net and create the chaos that leads to the tying goal or take the shot that changes the game. And you would hope they’re burning up inside when someone else is being counted on in their place.
That’s how it’s supposed to be.
As Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said after Sunday’s practice, “Internal competition is a big part of getting the best out of every guy.”
Even if St. Louis made it clear he wasn’t necessarily trying to stoke that fire by placing Armia where he did on Saturday, that comment makes it clear he also knows unintentionally flaring the embers underneath Gallagher and Anderson won’t hurt.
St. Louis needs both players to be better than they’ve shown this season. He’d probably love nothing more than for both of them to show over the final 27 games that they can be, and he’d have reason to think Armia can be more than just a source of motivation for them in that process.
Armia can also be a source of inspiration.
He took his demotion to the AHL — and even the short one that followed his recall in November — as a wakeup call, rededicated himself to his craft and, in the process, rediscovered a joy for the game that he hadn’t experienced in far too long.
Gallagher and Anderson haven’t had too much fun for most of this season, but they can change that. And both of them know sulking over where they currently find themselves in the pecking order won’t help them do that.
Gallagher returned from a five-game suspension last week in New York and was placed by St. Louis on the team’s fourth line against the Rangers.
Was he happy about being there?
“It’s not a good feeling,” he said on Tuesday.
But the 31-year-old, who’s been a top-nine forward throughout his entire 11-year career, didn’t get bogged down by that in New York Thursday, or even at home on Saturday.
Instead, Gallagher went to work, taking it as a challenge to prove he can play hard, disciplined hockey.
“You just have to be able to take advantage of whatever you’re going to get,” said Gallagher. “If it’s one chance, try to take advantage of your one chance.”
That’s what Gallagher did when he jumped on the one opportunity his role limited him to against the Capitals — driving the net hard on a rush with Brandon Gignac and drawing the third-period power play the Canadiens scored on to tie the game 3-3.
Gallagher was immediately rewarded by St. Louis for that when the coach put him in Joshua Roy’s place on a line with Armia and Alex Newhook, and he’d have loved to have been rewarded a little more by being placed in a position to help tie the game with Montreal’s net empty thereafter.
“I think we all probably have that inside of us, and that’s why you’re here,” he said. “You’re competitive with everything you do and, definitely, there’s internal competition. That’s a big part of it. That stuff is earned, and you only earn it through good play. I’ve had those opportunities in the past, and you want to continue to push and earn those opportunities again.
“For Army, I think he deserves it, and you’re happy for him. But you push each other, and that internal competition is always there.”
It’s there for Anderson, too, and he has to assert himself in it.
His game has been up and (mostly) down this season but, with his confidence largely affected by terrible scoring droughts, he just hasn’t found a way.
The 29-year-old’s inconsistency has been even more magnified of late.
He struggled immensely in back-to-back games over Super Bowl weekend, finding himself on the ice for six goals against in losses to the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues. He rebounded reasonably well and notched an assist in a 5-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks last Tuesday, and he had another assist and was arguably one of Montreal’s best players against the Rangers on Thursday.
But Anderson was completely invisible against the Capitals on Saturday, hence being left on the bench for Armia as the Canadiens pressed to tie the game.
Again, he should take some motivation from that.
And Anderson knows he can also take some inspiration from how Armia’s dealt with his circumstances this season.
“I thought when he came up after (the demotion), he started to build his game and started producing,” Anderson said. “And when he wasn’t producing, he was still being effective.”
That’s something Anderson has the opportunity to do once again this Wednesday, when he lines up with Newhook and Roy against the Buffalo Sabres.
Gallagher, who practised with Jake Evans and Armia on the team’s third line Tuesday, should be pushing to take his place if he doesn’t take advantage of it.
He said he’s happy for Armia and wants him, Anderson, and everyone else on the Canadiens to succeed.
“But there’s a part of everyone where you want it to be you,” he said, “and that’s healthy.”
“You want that in your group,” Gallagher continued. “That’s how you create that culture every winning team has always had in no matter what sport.”
That competition has been there on the Canadiens’ blue line for most of the season, and it ramps up again with Jordan Harris returning from a concussion.
There’s competition at the top of the lineup, as well, with Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield all pushing each other to be difference makers on a nightly basis.
And the competition in the middle of the lineup should’ve taken on new dimension when Gallagher and Anderson were watching Armia play the role they’ve customarily filled throughout their respective careers.
It should push them to elevate their play, and push Armia to maintain his.
“We’re always going to have the usual suspects out there, but there’s always spots to grab on a six-on-five,” said St. Louis. “We went with Army (on Saturday), and I don’t think there’s anybody on our bench that would argue that.
“It’s a game-to-game, day-to-day (decision), but that internal competition is a big part of getting the best out of everyone.”