Alex Galchenyuk scores in first game back from injury (Video)

It didn’t take long for Alex Galchenyuk to make his mark in his return as he scored on a flawless deflection in the second period. 

The Montreal Canadiens were ecstatic to be getting back Alex Galchenyuk back against the New York Rangers. Without Galchenyuk, the Habs didn’t have a true first line center. Their record suggests they didn’t miss him too much, but without him, their offense just didn’t have the same kick to it.

After the Rangers took a one-goal lead in the first period, Galchenyuk scored a few minutes into the second period. It wasn’t one of his patented top shelf snipes. Rather, it came off a deflection. But hey, deflections count as much as a highlight reel wrist shot, right?

Through 26 games, Galchenyuk now has 24 points, with 10 goals and 14 assists. He is just two points short of averaging a point per game. An injury will likely cost him from hitting his career highs, but it’s worth noting Galchenyuk has 0.36 goals per game this season after having 0.37 last season when he got to 30 goals.

Also, after averaging 0.68 points per game last season, he’s averaging 0.92 this season. The game breaker for him this season has been his playmaking. Galchenyuk has always been a scorer. But now that he’s starting to use it to his advantage by passing the puck more, the Canadiens center has turned into one of the most fun players in the NHL to watch.

What’s more amazing is Galchenyuk does all of this despite not getting that much ice time. Entering Saturday’s game, he’s averaging just 16:10 of ice time per game. Believe it or not, this is even lower than his ice time from last season. Regardless of how much he’s on the ice, Galchenyuk is scoring. That has to be the Canadiens happy.

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