Unexpected change announced involving Arber Xhekaj in a moment?
The young defenseman of the Montreal Canadiens, Arber Xhekaj, might well experience an unexpected change tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Following the suspension handed down to the youngster Kaiden Guhle, who will have to miss a game, head coach Martin St-Louis will have to completely shuffle his defensive pairs (obviously, Guhle is a huge piece of the defensive brigade and he takes a ton of minutes).
Because Martin St-Louis has not revealed his defensive pairs for tonight's game, it is still unknown who will play on the first pair with Mike Matheson.
In Guhle's absence, there will definitely be big minutes to take for all the other defensemen, including obviously Arber Xhekaj.
Xhekaj on Martin St-Louis's first defensive pair?
So, don't be surprised if Xhekaj plays a lot of minutes tonight and if he is put to the test against the Carolina Hurricanes. It will be an interesting test for him!
Will he be propelled onto the first pair, with Matheson?
It certainly seems to be a very real possibility! To be continued!
Imagine the twist that would be, considering where he was at the beginning of the 2023-24 season!
Xhekaj, 23 years old, 6 feet 4 inches, and 240 pounds, has accumulated nine points in 41 games this season, with 79 penalty minutes and a positive differential of +6!
After being left out at the beginning of the season, after a stint with the Laval Rocket, he is now playing 17 minutes per game for a few weeks! (He was barely playing 14 minutes per game at the start of the season.)
With Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, the Sheriff could be one of the players most used by Martin St-Louis tonight!
| POLL | ||
Which one would you place on the first pair, with Mike Matheson, if you were in Martin St-Louis's shoes? | ||
| Xhekaj | 207 | 47.6 % |
| Kovacevic | 67 | 15.4 % |
| Savard | 100 | 23 % |
| Harris | 61 | 14 % |
| List of polls | ||
