Hockey fans react to Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher's bloodied face

Jun 29 2021, 1:51 pm

Ah, there’s nothing quite like the good old hockey game.

With the Montreal Canadiens down 4-1 in the third period of last night’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Habs forward Brendan Gallagher was looking to light a fire under his teammates.

Gallagher crashed the crease following a frozen puck from Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and started a scrum in front of the net.

Unfortunately for Gallagher, he ended up with his own bodily fluids on his face after being thrown to the ice by Tampa’s Mikhail Sergachev.

The video of the incident is here:

The play sparked various reactions from fans weighing in on the NHL’s latest example of “letting the players play” in a post-whistle scrum. More often than not, scums see infractions go unpunished that would result in a penalty had they occurred seconds earlier.

Here’s some of the Twitter response to the play:

Many spectators were also quick to point out juxtaposing comments from the head of the league about the state of hockey officiating.

Earlier in the day, NHL Gary Bettman commissioner called the league’s officials “the best in the world,” a comment that didn’t sit well with many hockey fans.

The dust-up wasn’t Gallagher’s only altercation of the day, though. In the first period, Gallagher also gave defenceman Victor Hedman a go, despite being a good nine or so inches shorter. It went how you’d expect. Here’s the incident and a few reactions:

Gallagher and the Canadiens will get a shot at redemption in tomorrow night’s Game 2 in Tampa. Puck drop is set for 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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