Arber Xhekaj feeds Patrick Maroon his breakfast

Arber Xhekaj hasn't fought much this season, but he and Patrick Maroon decided to start 2025 off with a fight. Xhekaj made him regret that decision with a flurry of punches.

Montreal Canadiens v Vegas Golden Knights
Montreal Canadiens v Vegas Golden Knights | Ethan Miller/GettyImages

On Friday night when the Montreal Canadiens were trailing the 32-ranked Chicago Blackhawks 1-0, Arber Xhekaj decided to inject some energy into the lineup.

There are two ways that he is adept at getting the bench fired up, and the blood pumping. Throwing a devastating hit that slows down the opposition or a fight. Xhekaj chose the latter and challenged Blackhawks tough guy Patrick Maroon to drop the gloves.

Maroon rifled off a couple of jabs, but Xhekaj didn't stop once he started; dropping Maroon to his knees with a flurry of shots. It certainly wasn't to the point where the Habs were in dire straits, but Xhekaj certainly got the boys going.

With David Savard out of the lineup, all of the guys will have to pick up the slack, and Xhekaj has shown he will do whatever it takes. He, and Jayden Struble patrolled the third defence pair - a pretty rugged pair. Xhekaj's fight wasn't all for naught, Cole Caufield made sure of that when he found some space in front of the Blackhawks net, and fired a perfect wrist shot past Arvid Soderblom.

The group didn't seem sluggish to start, I thought they kept up well; it was just a case of the Canadiens taking too many penalties. It's hard to stay in a game when the club's top offensive players are on the bench because the team is stuck killing penalties. Not only does the opposition like the man advantage, but they don't have to stress about Cole Caufield or Lane Hutson if they aren't on the ice.

Montreal had three minor penalties in the first period, and luckily they only surrendered one goal. Tyler Bertuzzi beat Samuel Montembeault to put the Blackhawks on the board. But Caufield, as I mentioned tied the game, scoring his 20th goal, a nice belated 24th birthday gift for No. 13.

I never felt like the Canadiens were out of the game, and I feel that Montembeault can hold the fort until the offense gets a goal. Watching them play the way they did against Florida, Tampa Bay and Vegas showed what this team is capable of. No offense to the Blackhawks, but they sit at dead last in the NHL standings.

Pezzetta in, Laine out

Hold onto your hats, Patrik Laine isn't injured and don't you worry, I thought the same thing when I saw Michael Pezzetta slotting into the lineup. But Laine has flu-like symptoms, so Pezzetta, who has been wasting away in the press box, gets a game. I think that the Canadiens have improved in such a way that without an injury, you can't justify Pezzetta in over anybody.

I think that Laine could have missed much bigger games, so it's best for him to rest up and prepare for the next game. Probably the next one after tomorrow's matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. But Pezzetta will hopefully have a strong game, and keep his confidence flowing, in what has been a rough ride for No. 55.

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