Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis opted to sit heavyweight enforcer Arber Xhekaj in the first two games of the Capitals-Canadiens’ first-round series, describing the six-foot-four defenseman’s physicality as a “card” that’s “good to have.”
Friday, with the Habs down 2-0 in the series and in possession of the final change back at home, St. Louis decided to give Xhekaj a jersey, placing him on the third defensive pairing with David Savard.
Xhekaj immediately made his presence known by whispering sweet nothings into Tom Wilson’s ear during warmups.
Like two sharks (not from San Jose) stalking their prey, the alpha males circled at the red line and exchanged words before eventually moving on to more important things, like getting more limber.
Xhekaj and Wilson are two of the most feared enforcers and biggest hitters in the game. Xhekaj became a topic of conversation when Wilson landed a big hit on young defenseman Kaiden Guhle in Game 1. Fans and media wondered if St. Louis thought Xhekaj was a necessary deterrent, with many hits laid by the Capitals in the first two games of the series.
While Wilson doesn’t drop the gloves as much anymore due to his overall importance on the ice, Xhekaj is a willing combatant in most situations, dropping his gloves seven different times during the season — even with the New York Rangers’ giant Matt Rempe. The former Costco employee (during the pandemic) is a fan favorite with Canadiens fans.
We’ll see if anything comes of it.
Update: Wilson and Xhekaj had several moments in the game. The most notable came at the end of the second period where the two shoved each other before Josh Anderson grabbed Wilson and they went after each other on the Capitals bench.
