Brendan Gallagher will be out indefinitely after the Montreal Canadiens forward broke his right thumb in a 3-2 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers at Bell Centre on Monday.
Gallagher left the game at 13:28 of the first period shortly after he was struck by a shot by Canadiens defenseman Alexander Romanov.
"He's the engine. He really is," goalie Jake Allen said. "You know what you're getting from 'Gally' every game. He's going to be in the hard areas. He's going to do the things that you know you need to do and pay the price to win. And don't get me wrong, those are really tough shoes to fill, but I think we have a lot of guys in this room that can really fill that."
Gallagher has scored 23 points (14 goals, nine assists) in 35 games this season.
"It's tough. He's a warrior in front of the net, and these kinds of things might happen through the season," Montreal forward Tomas Tatar said after the game Monday. "Obviously, he will be missed, and we have to do everything we can and battle and get as many points until he gets back, and hopefully he will be ready to play for us."
Jesperi Kotkaniemi will take Gallagher's place at right wing on a line with center Phillip Danault and left wing Tomas Tatar against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, RDS).
The Canadiens (17-9-9) are fourth in the seven-team Scotia North Division, eight points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames. The top four teams will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Gallagher missed 18 games in 2016-17 following surgery on his left hand after he was hit by a shot from Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 4, 2017. He missed 17 games the previous season after he broke two fingers on his left hand blocking a shot by New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk on Nov. 22, 2015.
"It's obviously unfortunate news for 'Gally' but when a door closes, another one opens for someone else," Allen said. "So it's just the way you've got to look at it, it's next man up."
Montreal goalie Carey Price is day to day with a lower-body injury and will not travel to Toronto. Price made 21 saves against the Oilers and finished the game but appeared to be dealing with an injury.
"It's something that has been carrying on for a little bit of time," Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said. "We just want to make sure he can take care of it and come back being 100 percent."
Goalie Cayden Primeau will make the trip to Toronto along with Allen, who will start against the Maple Leafs.
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