"The last few months, I feel I've been playing my best hockey. The stats don't show it and that's what people focus on, but I can understand that, because honestly, I focus on it, too," Galchenyuk said following the 6-3 win over New York at Barclays Center. "But at the end of the day, I knew a game like this was going to come sooner or later, and I'm happy."
Head coach Claude Julien was also pleased with the American sniper's improved play after preaching all season long that defensive accountability would be an important component to complement the former third-overall pick's renowned scoring touch.
"I don't think there's any doubt that Alex is gifted offensively. That's his asset. The thing we've been working on a lot with him this year is trying to get him to be a little bit better without the puck, defending, closing plays, being better along the wall with pucks. He's worked hard at it. He's made some progress there," said Julien, who boosted Galchenyuk's ice time from 15:11 per game in the first half of the season to 17:15 in the second, before the Habs hit the road one last time in April. "We're not trying to change anything that's good for him. If anything, we like his offensive part, and I think he's still able to do more offensively. But we want him to continue to evolve and get better, and with the right attitude and work ethic, it's slowly happening."