Habs Daily: Playoff Chaos, Anderson Fight, Xhekaj Return, Injuries

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on a very busy Friday.

Montreal Canadiens News

The first big news of the day was defenceman Arber Xhekaj returning to the lineup, while Jayden Struble made his way to the press box.  Xhekaj lined up alongside David Savard on the third pairing. [Canadiens Defenceman Arber Xhekaj Returns To Lineup]

Friday’s game wasn’t just the most entertaining of the playoffs so far, it was also a statement game by the young Montreal Canadiens lineup. The Habs out-hit, outshot, and outplayed the Washington Capitals by a wide margin. As per tradition, the first line did most of the heavy lifting from an offensive standpoint, but it was Josh Anderson and Co. that set the physical tone, which swung the momentum firmly in Montreal’s corner. Unfortunately, both Samuel Montembeault and Logan Thompson were injured in the 6-3 Canadiens win, something that was overshadowed by the brawl that saw Anderson and Tom Wilson spill into the Capitals bench. [Canadiens Win Crazy Game Full Of Goals, Fights, And Injuries]

The main event was clearly Anderson and Wilson getting into the type of situation that will be replayed in playoff promos for years to come. For the record. Wilson went looking for Anderson, and if we’re being honest, it probably wasn’t a great idea, seeing as the Canadiens took over the game after the wild brawl came to an end. [MUST SEE: Canadiens Anderson Fights Wilson On Capitals Bench]

Lost in all the chaos was linesman Kyle Flemington doing a hell of a job trying to separate two angry players while navigating the bench.

Shoutout to Kyle Flemington, the linesman that got caught up in the Josh Anderson – Tom Wilson fight on the bench.

My man was doing a hell of a job considering the situation. pic.twitter.com/MbhVPWkL0X

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 26, 2025

ICYMI: No one is expecting the Canadiens will win the Stanley Cup, but that doesn’t mean they can’t steal a game or two by looking to new line combinations. A late-game change by head coach Martin St-Louis on Wednesday night offered some evidence to suggest Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, and Alex Newhook work well together. [A New Playoff Hope Emerges For Canadiens and Ivan Demidov]