Connect with us

Canadiens Postgame

Canadiens Instant Recap: Xhekaj Fights Again In Preseason Finale

Published

10 months ago

on

By

montreal canadiens xhekaj

The Montreal Canadiens were in Ottawa on Saturday night, a game that would mercifully put an end to what has undoubtedly been one of the most useless preseasons in recent history. More on that later in the recap.

The Habs made a push late in the game, but it was too little too late, as the Senators emerged with a 4-2 win.

Let’s dive into the Canadiens highlights!

Renewing Hostilities

The game kicked off with a fight between Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj and Senators enforcer Zack MacEwen, a continuation of the bad blood that started in the previous game between these two rivals.

If the goal was to turn the physical battle in Ottawa’s favour it backfired spectacularly, as Xhekaj made quick work of the career journeyman. Of course, this set the tone for the game, which featured very little 5v5 play as both teams made their way to the penalty box with regularity.

The Senators absolutely loathe Xhekaj, and if I’m being honest, I don’t blame them. It started with his knockout on a Senators prospect at the Rookie Tournament in Buffalo a couple of years ago, and the feud has only gained momentum since then. Try as they may, the Sens simply don’t have anyone who can match Xhekaj physically, but it won’t stop them from trying, as evidenced by when former Hab Nick Cousins attempted to hit Xhekaj in the second period. Emphasis on ‘attempted’, as Cousins bounced off Xhekaj in yet another cartoonish play between these two teams.

Christian Dvorak opened the scoring for the Canadiens. The veteran centre receives more than his fair share of criticism, and most of it has been warranted, but he’s played well since the start of preseason. Brendan Gallagher has also been quietly efficient, though it feels odd to use the word ‘quietly’ when discussing No.11.


Xhekaj also found the back of the net for the Canadiens, with his blast from the point deflecting off a Sens’ player before fooling Linus Ullmark, who has been excellent in preseason action for Ottawa.

Things We Learned In Preseason

O Discipline, where art thou?

The Senators continued to punish the Canadiens for their lack of discipline, an ongoing issue that extends back to when Steve Begin seemingly took a minor penalty in the last few minutes of every game in 2005-06. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but even historical accounts from 17th-century pirates provide more evidence of discipline than what we’ve seen from the Canadiens in the last calendar year.

Montreal has adopted a ‘take no prisoners‘ attitude recently, which is understandable, but they simply don’t have the talent in the lineup to balance what feels like 32 minor penalties per game.

Power Failure

It’s the preseason, so we won’t read too much into these games, but the Habs went roughly 0/97 on the powerplay in their six games. It may have been fewer than 97 opportunities, but let’s face it, the Canadiens need to produce some semblance of offensive know-how while on the man advantage, or it’ll be a very long season, again.

It would be unfair to task a rookie with fixing a longstanding issue, but at this point, Lane Hutson seems to be the only person who has the skill set necessary to change the situation.

Save us, Hutson, you’re our only hope!

Absolutely Useless Preseason

Preseason is frustrating at the best of times, but I’m having a hard time remembering a more useless stretch of games for the Montreal Canadiens. Not only was Patrik Laine injured, the team’s top line played a little over 20 minutes of 5v5 hockey, which means they’ll be heading into the regular season relatively cold. Arber Xhekaj spent more time in the penalty box than Juraj Slafkovsky spent on the ice. As for the prospects, they were held to about 10 minutes of 5v5 ice time through four games, making it rather difficult to get a good read.

This preseason was as useful to the Habs as tits on a bull. It was as useful as a screen door on a submarine. As useful as a french horn player on a deer hunt.

They can’t remove preseason from the calendar, because that would lead to more players being injured in the early parts of the regular season, but a down tick in games is certainly in order. No one wants six or more preseason games, including the fans and the players.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on October 9. They will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre to open their 2024-25 regular season. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

Related Topics:

MHN in your inbox

Enter your email address and get all of our articles sent directly to your inbox

Canadiens Roster & Cap Info