Gallagher: 'As players, you look in the mirror'

WINNIPEG - Following Thursday's morning skate at Bell MTS Place, Brendan Gallagher cut straight to the chase.

According to the Canadiens' alternate captain, the players themselves bear significant responsibility for the drastic changes behind the bench.
"You put the blame on yourselves. Change happens around here when you don't get results. We weren't getting the results we wanted, we weren't meeting expectations, and change happens," said Gallagher, referencing the team's struggles since early February, including their current three-game winless streak. "As players, you look in the mirror, and I think we can all ask a little bit more of ourselves and do a little bit more here."
The Habs have a chance to put that pledge into practice in their first meeting of the season against the Jets, which will also mark interim head coach Dominique Ducharme's debut at the helm.
After getting to know Ducharme since he joined the fold in April 2018, Gallagher believes he's ready for his new role.
"I think he's very prepared for this opportunity. When you look at what he's been doing as a coach, the way he's been able to learn from his time with us as an assistant coach, his time in Junior, coaching at the national level, he's gathered this experience. He's been preparing for this opportunity and he came into this with a plan," explained Gallagher. "We have structure, we have areas that we need to follow as players, we have expectations. When we do that, we all believe in the end goal. That's what he brought to us. When you put together those things and you believe in the plan, you all buy into the plan, hopefully at the end of the day we're standing where we want to be. It's a long process, and tonight is just an opportunity to start the building blocks."

The nine-year NHL veteran insists the switch has already injected some major enthusiasm into the group, but he knows translating that into on-ice success matters most.
The Jets certainly present a challenge to kick off Ducharme's tenure. They're currently riding a two-game winning streak and boast a 6-3-1 record on home ice. The fact that newcomer Pierre-Luc Dubois is heating up after his three-point performance (2 goals, 1 assist) performance on Sunday night in Vancouver can present a problem, too.
Gallagher stressed the importance of rising to the occasion with Ducharme now in charge.
"We're excited. He's very excited for the opportunity. It's very well deserved. Like all of us, we had to earn our chance in the NHL. I think he really earned this opportunity. As players, you definitely want to help him out and make it a positive one," said Gallagher. "We have an opportunity here to kind of start fresh and get off on the right foot with a big game tonight. We've just got to match our coach's excitement, and we should be good."

Fortunately for Gallagher, veteran Tomas Tatar will be returning to his line alongside Phillip Danault for Thursday night's contest.
They're hoping to recapture some of the magic they've displayed in the past and help get things going offensively.
"We have to be good for our team. We have to be consistent night after night. Hopefully, Dom's going to be able to rely on us. That's the goal. Build that trust. I think he puts a lot of trust in us to begin with and we don't want to let him down. As a line, we know how effective we can be," stressed Gallagher. "It's about just getting back to that and doing what we can do. It's not about any one player doing too much. As a line, we're really effective when we all work together. Hopefully, we can earn that trust that the coaching staff is going to instill in us."
It's one of several moves Ducharme is making up front.
Artturi Lehkonen returns to the lineup after watching the last two games from the stands as a healthy scratch, while Jake Evans is the odd man out for the first time this season.
During the on-ice session, Lehkonen was featured on the left side of a line that also included Paul Byron at center and Joel Armia at right wing. Tyler Toffoli, meanwhile, was featured alongside Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Corey Perry.
"It's a new start, so the ball is in their hands. I have confidence that the four lines we've built can play well together and deliver offense. They complement each other in the way they play," said Ducharme, regarding the various tweaks. "There's experience blended with youth. We have confidence in our lineup."

And with that in mind, the 47-year-old Joliette native is eager to see his guys in action.
"We're starting right now and we're going to control what we can control. We're going to take care of the things that we can have an impact on," added Ducharme. "We believe that if we do that, we're going to be looking up at the scoreboard and the results are going to be good for us."
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET. You can watch the game on TSN2, TSN3 and RDS and listen on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.