MONTREAL - Forward Brendan Gallagher is the Montreal Canadiens' Molson Cup Player of the Year for the 2017-18 season. He wins the honor for the first time in his career.

He also earns the honor for the March-April segment, his second monthly award this season and the third of his career.

The Edmonton native finished ahead of teammates Jonathan Drouin and Antti Niemi.

One of the five Canadiens players to appear in all of the team's 79 games thus far this season, Gallagher reached the 30-goal (30) and 50-point (51) plateaus for the first time in his career, leading the team in both categories. Gallagher ranks first on the team with eight powerplay goals (tied with A. Galchenyuk), four game-winning goals (tied with Drouin and M. Pacioretty) and shots (269 - career-high).

Brendan Gallagher earned the Molson Cup for the last segment of the season, finishing ahead of Alex Galchenyuk, Artturi Lehkonen and Niemi. He has recorded 14 points (9 goals, 5 assists) in 16 games in March and April. Two of his tallies were game-winning goals.

In 2017-18, the Molson Cup scoring system awards three points for a first star selection, two points for a second star selection and a single point for a third star selection.

2017-18 Molson Cup Standings