Canadiens: Did Florian Xhekaj Buy His Way Into The Press Box

It was all going so well for the kids' line until the very end of the game. For the second straight time, they opened the scoring for the Montreal Canadiens and set the tone with speed and physicality on the forecheck. That line was once again one of the hosts' most visible combinations, taking five of the team’s 22 shots. Xhekaj landed three shots, and Owen Beck added another for what increasingly looks like a line that has an identity.

However, the night didn’t end as well as it started, and after seeing Arber Xhekaj fight, it looked like the younger Xhekaj wanted in on that action. After serving a two-minute penalty for roughing, he went straight at Neal Pionk, eager to finish what they had started, but the defenseman had none of it. Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry, however, was happy to answer the bell, and he put his opponent down quickly.

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The pro fights of this world will tell you that a good bout can bring momentum, but generally speaking, that only applies to the team that won the fight and on Tuesday night, when Lowry put the rookie down, it lifted the Jets’ spirit massively and set them up for the latest four-goal comeback in league history. Winnipeg got its first goal with 2:40 left, and by the time there were 33 seconds left on the clock, the score was tied 4-4, and they went on to win 5-4 in overtime.

Martin St-Louis refused to throw the younger Xhekaj under the bus for his unnecessary fight with Lowry, but one has to wonder if that didn’t buy him a one-way ticket to the press box. Kirby Dach was back at morning skate on Tuesday and is therefore healthy again. Nick Suzuki, who looked thoroughly unimpressed as he walked by the media on his way out of the building after the game, should also return soon. Before this game, it seemed like the plan was to sit Beck, but now? It wouldn’t be surprising if Xhekaj was made to skip his turn.

Starting an unnecessary fight when your team is leading 4-0 and has already won a fight a few minutes earlier is rarely a good move, and it’s certainly not part of playing a mature game. Even if St-Louis didn’t say it, that’s the kind of action you want to avoid while protecting leads. The Canadiens might have been leading 4-0 when the fight took place, but they hadn’t been dominating the Jets, far from it. No one could have predicted it would lead to a four-goal comeback, but it still served no purpose.

Furthermore, before coming out of the lineup because of an illness, Dach was actually playing well, and if you want to establish a culture of accountability, players have to earn the right to play or to remain in the lineup. Thursday’s visitors at the Bell Centre, the Utah Mammoth lead the league in power-play goals with 20; it won’t be a good idea to take unnecessary penalties against them. With Dach and Suzuki likely to return on Thursday, don’t be surprised if the younger Xhekaj has to make way, just like Beck, who hasn’t done anything to deserve being scratched, though. Chances are, Xhekaj will have learned his lesson the hard way and won’t try to spark an unnecessary fight again in the dying minutes of a game his team is leading.

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