Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher has a broken jaw that will require surgery, forcing him out of the series after he was cross-checked by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Matt Niskanen in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Wednesday night.

Late in the third period, Gallagher was cross-checked in the jaw by Niskanen and was bleeding from his mouth. No penalty was called on the play and Niskanen will have a hearing with NHL Player Safety regarding the incident. "We have confidence the video will show what it shows," Canadiens interim head coach Kirk Muller told reporters in the team's Zoom call on Thursday.

"Let's see what happens this afternoon," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters regarding the hearing. "But in my estimation, Gallagher got up and seemed fine, he was talking to the referees.

"The whole time he was on the bench, he was talking to our players...I don't think it's Nisky's fault that he's taller than a bunch of guys."

Gallagher scored his first goal of the playoffs earlier in Game 5 as the Habs went on to win 5-3. The Flyers lead the series 3-2.