Gallant opened the 1985–86 season as a full-time regular with the Red Wings. However, in a December 11 game against the Minnesota North Stars, he suffered a broken jaw during a fight with Dirk Graham. Gallant's jaw had to be wired-shut for six weeks, causing him to miss six weeks of games. When he returned, he sported a football-style face mask on his helmet. He ultimately appeared in 52 games, scoring 20 goals with 39 points and 106 penalty minutes. Gallant was part of an unfortunate incident in a November 26, 1986, game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Red Wings in Detroit. During a scrum in front of the Leafs net, Gallant accidentally cut the face of Börje Salming with his skate blade after Salming had been knocked down. The injury required facial surgery and more than two hundred stitches to Salming's face.