The Montreal Canadiens snapped a four-game losing streak Tuesday thanks to the inspiring play of Alex Galchenyuk.
The 22-year-old scored twice, including the overtime winner. He also added an assist as the Canadiens got by the Dallas Stars 4-3.
The game proved to be another showcase for one of the club's lone achievements this season. With his three-point effort Tuesday, Galchenyuk is now tied with captain Max Pacioretty for the team lead with 23 goals - a career high - and 44 points, just two shy of his career mark.
Galchenyuk has been on an incendiary pace while his club continues to struggle without No. 1 goalie Carey Price. The team has dropped four of its last five games and sits seven points outside of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
However, Galchenyuk has not slowed down. With a pair of goals Tuesday, he now has four multi-goal games in his last seven contests. His offensive production has been key for the Canadiens as his nine goals make up 45 percent of the team's total output in the last seven games.
Arguably the biggest catalyst for the growth in Galchenyuk's game appears to be the confidence head coach Michel Therrien has shown in the youngster.
Galchenyuk entered the season finally getting a chance to play center, his native position, after being used largely as a winger early in his career. Things have since changed with him now occupying the team's top trio.
Michel Therrien has no regrets in terms of not putting Galchenyuk back in the middle earlier. Says he's a completely different player now.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 9, 2016
Meanwhile, Galchenyuk had 19:10 of ice time on Tuesday - second highest among the team's forwards behind only Pacioretty.
The Canadiens are far from being the team that took to the ice last season, but best be sure that Galchenyuk is also not the same player he once was.
