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Arber Xhekaj’s Top-5 Fights With The Montreal Canadiens

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Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens have found themselves a diamond in the rough with Arber Xhekaj, as he’s put on a show with his physical play and electrifying fights.

Arber Xhekaj may be the best story in the NHL this season, and it’s not just because of his thunderous checks or surprising production.

He made the jump straight to the NHL from his junior club, which is quite rare when it comes to NHL defencemen. Players like Petr Svoboda and Victor Mete also started their professional careers with the Canadiens at a young age, however, there’s a very important distinction to make when it comes to their pedigree.

On top of his good play on the ice, he’s also had some very entertaining fights.

Here’s a top-5 list of Xhekaj’S fights so far from the Montreal Canadiens:

 

5) November 17 – Arber Xhekaj vs Mathieu Olivier

Arber Xhekaj dropped the gloves twice in two consecutive games in November, this time against Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 21-year-old defenceman has not been shy about taking on all comers and the two players were seemingly looking for each other all game that night.

After the Montreal Canadiens tied up the game, coming back from a 2-0 deficit, Olivier and Xhekaj dropped the gloves and put on a respectable show; albeit not one of Xhekaj’s most prolific tilts.

4) October 4 – Arber Xhekaj vs Mark Kastelic

In one of the last preseason games, Xhekaj took the fight to the Ottawa Senators yet again, by going toe-to-toe with Mark Kastelic.

Xhekaj was in the Senators’ heads all throughout the entire preseason, since they played four games against them all season.

As Kastelic quickly found out there’s a new sheriff in town.

3) October 20 – Arber Xhekaj vs Zach Kassian

Former Costco employee Arber Xhekaj squared up with Zack Kassian, and the result was nothing short of a dominant display by the Canadiens defenceman.

It was Xhekaj’s first official regular season fight in the NHL and Zach Kassian‘s 40th, but the fight didn’t last long, with Xhekaj landing a couple of clean right hooks right off the bat. Kassian quickly reacted to the unreasonable amount of pain sent his way, but couldn’t escape the Xhekaj barrage, which then shifted to body shots.

Arizona Coyotes forward Zach Kassian left the ice following the fight, seemingly nursing a hand injury, whereas Xhekaj was no worse for wear and served his 5-minute fighting penalty.

2) December 17 – Arber Xhekaj vs Pat Marroon

With the tune of DMX‘s “X Gon Give It To Ya”, Arber Xhekaj continued to show why he’s one of the most exciting young personalities in the NHL.

After completing a hard, yet clean hit along the boards, he was immediately chased by Tampa Bay Lightning Pat Maroon, who challenged him to drop the gloves and defend the honour of his fellow Tampa Bay teammate.

Not only did the Montreal Canadiens defenceman not back down, he effectively gave it to Maroon, who is one of the big heavyweights in the NHL and one of the league’s most notorious tough guys.

Throwing haymakers left and right, Xhekaj once again showed why he’s the Habs’ sherriff since joining the club this season.

 

 

1) September 18 – Arber Xhekaj vs Zachary Massicotte

During a contest between the Canadiens and Senators at the Prospect Challenge in Buffalo, Xhekaj had stood out right from the get-go due to his punishing style and thunderous hits. Fresh out of the penalty box after another penalty for another borderline hit, Senators’ Massicotte approached Xhekaj and invited him to fight in order to reclaim the honour of his injured teammate, Viktor Lodin.

Unfortunately for Massicotte, that was not a good idea, as Xhekaj made very quick work of the Senators prospect as seen below.