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Brendan Gallagher doesn’t remember all the details from his first NHL game with the Canadiens five years ago.

“Chucky (Alex Galchenyuk) always tells me I couldn’t stop smiling,” Gallagher said after the Canadiens beat the New York Rangers 3-1 Thursday night at the Bell Centre. “I don’t remember much about it. You’re obviously excited and you have that little jump of energy and you kind of have to pinch yourself a little bit because you look around and you look at the building you’re playing in, a Montreal Canadiens sweater. … It’s a pretty special feeling.”

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Noah Juulsen got to experience that feeling Thursday in his first NHL game with the Canadiens and earned some rave reviews for his performance after logging 17:14 of ice time with two shots, four hits and a plus-2 while paired with veteran Karl Alzner.

Photo by Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette

“It was incredibly impressive,” Alzner said after practice Friday in Brossard about Juulsen’s play. “I got to see him very briefly in training camp and was impressed then. But yesterday it was unbelievable. The way he played with poise, confidence. I thought he played really well. He talked a ton out there, which is a defenceman partner’s dream. So that was really nice. Solid game and solid practice today, too. That goes a long way.”