Brendan Gallagher to miss at least 6 weeks after hand surgery

Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing left hand surgery to repair two fractured fingers.

He underwent the procedure Monday, the team said on its official Twitter feed.

The 23-year-old Edmonton native was hurt in Sunday's 4-2 win over the visiting New York Islanders after being hit in the hand by a shot from the Islanders' Johnny Boychuk.

Gallagher has 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 23 games this season.

"It's a big loss," coach Michel Therrien told nhl.com. "He's a big part of the success of this hockey team. But we lost [goaltender Carey Price]for a period of time. For me, it's not an excuse to not keep having success."

The Canadiens went 5-2-2 when Price was ruled out by a lower-body injury, and the team will look to recover from the absence of Gallagher just as effectively.

"We lost our best player for a few weeks and did pretty well," said left wing Lars Eller. "So we'll see."

The Canadiens also said Tuesday that centre Torrey Mitchell will be out at least another week. He suffered a lower-body injury in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes last Thursday.

Mitchell has 10 points (5-5) in 20 games this season.