Florian Xhekaj’s night started the way Montreal would have wanted and ended in a way that could cost him his spot in the lineup.
The Canadiens rookie was part of a kids’ line that gave the team a jolt again, opening the scoring for the second straight game and setting an early pace with speed and edge on the forecheck. That trio stood out for Montreal, with Xhekaj and Owen Beck helping drive one of the home side’s most noticeable combinations. The line accounted for five of Montreal’s 22 shots, while Xhekaj put three on goal and Beck added another as the group continued to look like it has a clear identity.
But the finish changed everything.
After Arber Xhekaj dropped the gloves, Florian seemed to want a piece of the action too. Following a two-minute roughing penalty, he went after Neal Pionk, but the Jets defenseman wasn’t interested. Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry stepped in instead and quickly put the rookie down.
That moment mattered. A fight can swing momentum, but usually for the side that wins it, and this one clearly went Winnipeg’s way.
Lowry’s win helped spark the Jets, who finished off a stunning four-goal comeback. Winnipeg got on the board with 2:40 left, tied the game with 33 seconds remaining, and then completed the rally with a 5-4 overtime win.
Martin St-Louis didn’t publicly pin the loss on the younger Xhekaj, but the question now is whether the fight cost him more than just momentum. Kirby Dach was back at morning skate on Tuesday and is healthy again, while Nick Suzuki also appears close to returning.
Before the game, the expectation seemed to be that Beck might sit. Now, Xhekaj may be the one headed out.
The timing is awkward for the rookie because the fight came with Montreal up 4-0 and after the team had already won another scrap a few minutes earlier. That’s not the kind of decision that fits a disciplined game, especially when protecting a lead. Montreal may not have been controlling play as much as the score suggested, but the move still served no real purpose.
Dach had been playing well before his illness, and if the Canadiens are serious about accountability, spots have to be earned and protected. That becomes even more important with the Utah Mammoth coming to the Bell Centre on Thursday. Utah leads the league in power-play goals with 20, so giving away unnecessary penalties is the last thing Montreal wants to do.
With Dach and Suzuki likely back, Xhekaj could be the odd man out, just as Beck may have been before this game. Beck, after all, hasn’t done anything to deserve a scratch. As for Xhekaj, this may be the kind of lesson that sticks.
In Other News...
Canadiens Bench Had A Telling Reaction To Arber Xhekajs Fight
Arber Xhekaj gave the Canadiens bench a jolt during their game against the Winnipeg Jets when he came out on top in a fight, and the reaction behind him said plenty about how much the moment meant in the room. Montreals players were quick to celebrate the scrap, with the entire bench acknowledging Xhekaj afterward as the game carried on.
Even Jacob Fowler joined in on the congratulations, a small but telling snapshot of the energy Xhekaj can bring to a lineup that was still trying to close out the night. The Canadiens did not finish the job, though, as Winnipeg stormed back late to force overtime and then won it there, leaving Montreal to turn the page quickly with Utah next on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Turned A Comfortable Win Into A Serious Warning Sign
For most of the night, Montreal looked set to walk away with a comfortable road win, with Jacob Fowler turning aside 42 of 47 shots and Josh Anderson adding to his scoring streak. The Canadiens had built a four-goal cushion late in the third period and were in position to bank two points before the game took a sharp turn.
Instead, Winnipeg kept pushing and found a way back into it, turning what should have been a tidy finish into a stressful finish for Montreal. The Canadiens still earned a point, but the way the lead slipped away leaves a much bigger question hanging over a team that had control until the very end. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Linked To A Stunning Summer Race For A Lightning Star
The idea of the Canadiens getting involved in a summer sweepstakes for Nikita Kucherov would have sounded far-fetched not long ago, but it is starting to surface in the kind of speculative chatter that follows a big-name player with a complicated future. Jonny Lazarus has gone as far as predicting that Tampa Bay could trade both Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy in the offseason, while also expecting Kucherov to finish the current season in Tampa before anything happens.
For Montreal, the intrigue is obvious. A player of Kucherovs caliber would instantly reshape the conversation around the Canadiens, and other reports have already connected them as a possible destination if the Lightning ever seriously opened the door. Nothing is imminent, and the whole idea still lives in the realm of summer rumor, but it is the kind of star-driven possibility that will keep Montreal on the edge of the discussion if Tampa Bay decides to make a dramatic move. [Read more 🡒]