Duels between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators are always spirited tilts. Still, on Saturday night, the Habs had two objectives: taking the two points against their divisional rivals and settling the score with Nick Cousins, who had slashed Ivan Demidov in a preseason game in Quebec City.

Travis Green had put Cousins on his first line alongside Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson, meaning that the odds of him meeting Arber Xhekaj on the ice were relatively low. The Senators’ pest tried to pick his poison throughout the game, trying to get Brendan Gallagher (and his surgically repaired hands) and Alexandre Carrier to fight, but both declined, according to Struble.

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Cousins might have been eager to put the whole thing to bed, but it didn’t make any sense for a Canadiens player to drop the gloves when leading 2-0. However, with the score tied 2-2 at the start of the third, the Habs were frustrated with the Sens’ second goal (it was initially waived off for goaltender interference but reinstated after a challenge), and the timing was just right.

Struble didn’t give Cousins a choice, and it didn’t take long for the Habs’ defenseman to be crowned winner of the tilt. Skating to the penalty box, the NCAA alums pumped up the crowd. As Martin St-Louis pointed out in his post-game media availability, Struble didn’t fight in the NCAA since fighting is prohibited. Still, it’s something he decided to add to his game even though it wasn’t asked of him.

The blueliner is undoubtedly aware that, in his battle for the sixth defenseman role with Xhekaj, physical toughness is one aspect in which his opponent has the upper hand, and adding it to his game can only help him. So far in the NHL, Struble has only fought six times, but he’s done well, winning most of his decisions.

Meanwhile, Xhekaj already has 39 fights to his name, and while he’s known as a fearsome fighter, he used to struggle to pick his moments to fight, accepting every challenge. He’s cleaned that up now and makes better decisions.

St-Louis certainly won’t complain about having two options with a physical edge, but so far this season, Struble has outplayed Xhekaj. When Kaiden Guhle is healthy again, Xhekaj would likely be the one who comes out of the lineup. There’s still time for Xhekaj to move the needle, however, since Guhle was ruled out for four to six weeks with a lower-body injury on October 18.

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