Canadiens: Looking For A Spark On The Bottom Six

Martin St-Louis is looking for more offensive punch from the Montreal Canadiens’ bottom six and decided to shake things up at practice on Monday in Brossard. The coach swapped Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher, marking one of the few tactical changes this season aside from injury-driven shifts.

Line Changes and Motivation

St-Louis removed Brendan Gallagher from his usual veteran line and paired him with Kirby Dach and Zack Bolduc. Meanwhile, Joe Veleno now skates alongside Jake Evans and Josh Anderson.

“It’s not that I’m unhappy with the way those lines have been playing,” said St-Louis. “But I want to see if a small change might generate more offense.”

Early Season Performance

Gallagher had previously played the first five games of the season with Dach and Bolduc. Bolduc collected four points in those games, Dach picked up two of his three total points, and Gallagher tallied four of his six points during that same stretch.

By contrast, Evans and Anderson started the season alongside Patrik Laine but failed to register a single point despite Laine’s efforts.

Coach’s Goal

St-Louis aims to rediscover chemistry between his forwards and create more consistent offensive depth, hoping this tweak sparks both lines to perform more effectively.

Author’s Summary: St-Louis adjusted the Canadiens’ bottom-six lines, swapping Gallagher and Veleno to reignite offensive production and balance the team’s forward units.

The Hockey News — 2025-11-04