For a second night in as many days, the Bell Centre hosted a Montreal Canadiens preseason game and this time, the roster included the other half of the crowd’s favourites: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, and, it has to be said, the Xhekaj brothers. A bit of brotherly love against the Philadelphia Flyers, the team from the city of brotherly love. They may not be as gifted offensively as the top of the line-up, but the Sheriff became a fan favourite right away in Montreal because of his rugged style of play, and his brother isn’t far behind.
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It was a night the Xhekaj family had waited for forever, and the team made sure to show Mama Xhekaj’s reaction on X when her youngest scored a goal. That night couldn’t have started better for the Xhekajs if it had been scripted. Asked about that special night for the family after the game, the coach said:
It doesn’t happen often you know, just being a parent having three boys, it’s a cool experience when I watch my two boys play against each other in college, I can only imagine what it’s like for two boys to play together, in the NHL, in Montreal and being far, but close enough to be there, it’s amazing, it’s a special moment and I’m glad they were able to share it together but also with their family. I think it’s a tight family, and it’s nice to see them get that experience.- St-Louis on the Xhekajs' special night.
Since the start of training camp, Martin St-Louis has insisted that his team defend everywhere on the ice, and on Tuesday night, it was evident that the first line had received the memo. As soon as they lost possession of the puck, they got back to work with active sticks, trying to regain control. Unsurprisingly, it was that line that opened the score on a three-on-two, from Hutson, to Suzuki, to Caufield for the one-timer, and Montreal had the lead less than a minute in.
After 20 minutes, the Canadiens had a 2-0 lead and a 9-5 edge in shots. Jakub Dobes, who was rocking a fantastic new mask featuring the Fleur-de-Lys, the Ole, Ole, Ole chants, and Ken Dryden’s 29, barely had to break a sweat. As for the older Xhekaj, he looked as decisive on the ice as he was in scrimmages this week, making the right decision at every turn and even getting himself out of a jam behind the net with two players chasing him.
The sole blemish on the period was the fact that Joshua Roy hesitated on a two-on-one with Alex Newhook and elected to pass too late, wasting a scoring chance. David Reinbacher also seemed to find the game was coming at him fast early on, but he made up for it later in the period with the first pass that eventually led to Xhekaj’s goal.
The second frame was much harder for Montreal; the Habs got themselves into penalty trouble repeatedly, and as a result, they could only manage two shots all period. The fact that Slafkovsky left for a while after being cut by a skate blade certainly didn’t help. Nor did Samuel Blais’ eagerness to jump on the ice, which led to a too-many-men call and a five-on-three. Still, it’s worth mentioning that the PK did manage to kill a long two-man advantage.
The youngest Xhekaj grabbed the spotlight again in this frame, fighting against veteran Nicolas Deslauriers. The rookie didn’t come out on top, but he still pumped up the crowd on his way to the box while his big brother was all smiles on the bench.
Reinbacher had a tough period. He mishandled the puck at the offensive blue line, and that led to the Flyers’ first goal by former Hab Anthony Richard, seconds after Kaapo Kahkonen had entered the game. The young defenseman decision making wasn't quite on point either and it's obvious he still needs some time in the AHL. Suzuki gave the hometown its two-goal lead back seconds after Slafkovsky came back to the game to set him up, but Philadelphia scored once more on the power play a minute and a half later.
Former Hab Christian Dvorak set up Owen Tippett for the Flyers' second goal while the elder Xhekaj was in the box. He was tripped by Rodrigo Abols and decided to drop the gloves, but the Flyer would have none of it, and the power play turned into a penalty kill. Will this be held against him in the battle for the sixth defenseman? I doubt it; he’s made a great effort to improve, and one relapse shouldn’t weigh that heavily, although St-Louis made a point of saying he couldn’t kill the first power play as he was in the box.
Kahkonen might only have faced nine shots in the final frame, but he made some solid saves that weren’t easy to make either. He stopped a breakaway while his team was on the power play, a one-timer, and a quick redirection from the slot. Those saves were key in the Canadiens’ victory. Lane Hutson took a penalty with just over two minutes left in the game, but the team was able to kill it, and the older Xhekaj even scored an empty netter to make it 4-2: two Xhekajs, two fights, two goals, a good night at the office for the family. The bench boss liked what he saw from the younger brother tonight, but he did say that he needs to improve his defensive reads on the ice, which is a relatively common issue for young players.
Even though he only got 12 minutes of ice time in the game, Slafkovsky had a significant impact on the game. He played with physicality, just like the organisation has been telling him is the best way for him to be efficient. The Slovak has come a long way since his rookie season, when he fell so often on the ice. St-Louis clearly liked what he saw:
Slaf played a good game; he played to his identity, and even though he lost some time [because of the skate cut], I’m glad it wasn’t too serious, as it could have been much worse. I really liked what he did on the ice tonight.- St-Louis on Slafkovsky's game
The first line really hit the ground running and teamed up for five points on the night. The Canadiens have a day off on Wednesday and will be back in Brossard on Thursday for a morning skate before hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre in the evening.
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