Florian Xhekaj the latest Rocket to be recalled to Canadiens

As the injuries continue to mount, the Montreal Canadiens have had to dig deep in the pockets of their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. First up was Jared Davidson, then Joshua Roy, and as of Friday evening, Florian Xhekaj will join the team just in time for Saturday night’s bout against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It is yet to be confirmed by the team, but it is possible that Jake Evans may miss some time after taking a high hit from Capitals' heavyweight Tom Wilson on Thursday night. This theory seems to be reinforced as Evans missed Friday’s skate as a therapy day, as well as Roy remaining with the team.

The younger Xhekaj brother has had a slow start to the season in Laval, but has started to find some more consistency in recent weeks. Florian has 2 goals and 2 assists in 16 games this season, and, of no surprise to anyone, 44 penalty minutes. Despite the slow start he has shown in the past, he is more than capable of lighting the lamp, with 24 goals and 11 assists in his rookie year.

The 21-year-old Hamilton, Ontario native brings a few useful tools that the Canadiens have been missing as of late. The first and possibly most crucial is the fact that he is a left-shot centreman, something that the Habs will need should Evans spend time away from the team. The second, and possibly equally important in some respects, is net-front presence. Finding gritty goals around the net, being a nuisance and at the very least being a very difficult to move impediment near the crease are somewhat of a specialty of his.

Outside of offence, he is also another body you can more than happily throw on the penalty kill.

Should Florian suit up Saturday night against the Maple Leafs, it will be his first regular-season NHL game and may help to bring some much-needed energy to a bruised Habs lineup.