That's the Brendan Gallagher effect. His energy is so contagious. Let's just say that he was overly motivated for his first preparation duel. We saw him energize his team before they hit the ice, then once on the ice, "Gally" put the pedal to the metal to guide his team to a 2-1 win.
The energy brought by the little number 11 certainly motivated Ryan Poehling, who absolutely had to take his intensity level to another "level". The Habs' first pick in 2017 managed to break through that fear that had been paralyzing him since the opening of training camp.
He was involved, his pace was much more dynamic, he won some important faceoffs, and then as the game progressed, you could feel his confidence level swelling. He put in a much better performance, which earned him some praise from head coach Dominique Ducharme.
Basically, the Poehling we saw on Saturday night is the Poehling we saw in the 2nd half of the season in Laval in 2021. He stopped overthinking, worked hard and his feet were no longer caught in the concrete. When he's not plagued by anxiety and he's "competing", he's effective at all levels.
In short, forget about the $6.5 million that Gallagher will receive annually, he is reaping his seeds for the past, while being THE team player par excellence!
