Canadiens Blueliner Xhekaj Played A Good Prudent Game

On Tuesdaynight against the Toronto Maple Leafs , he played on the third pairing with Jayden Struble and got 12:20 ofice time, including 1:29 on the penalty kill. He hadn't seen that much actionsince the last regular-season game, when Noah Dobson was unavailable and Kaiden Guhle was being rested. As for the penalty kill, that was very out of the ordinary for him, and Derek Lalonde now being in charge ofthat aspect of the game may explain why he's getting that new opportunity.

Canadiens' St-Louis Appears On New Podcast New Canadiens Season Means Big Ad Campaigns Canadiens: Anderson Must Be Signed To A New Contract, But It Can't Be A Big One In his 16shifts, the 6-foot-4 and 240-pound blueliner didn't land a single hit. The occasion didn't present itself, and he didn't go on the ice seeking the big hits. Xhekaj kept things simple and made the low-risk play whenever he was on the ice. At one point, first-overall pick Gavin McKenna pressured him in his own end, but Xhekaj turned the other way and easily escaped the highly touted prospect.

In thesecond frame, Brandon Duhaime rocked him with a big hit behind the Canadiens' net, and he ended up down on the ice. Once upon a time, he would havegotten up and tried to avenge the hit right away, but he didn't. He got back up and got right back to the task at hand: defending. The Habs led 2-1 at that point, and there was no time for extracurriculars.