As expected, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have both been playing with a real edge so far in their first-round series. It is understandable, as playoff hockey is always more intense, and there are two clubs are Atlantic Division rivals. The Lightning have been embracing, and Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper recently was transparent about that while speaking to reporters. "Somebody’s gotta be the villain, I guess. We’re okay with it,” Cooper said [https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/3454482/lightning-ok-being-playoff-bad-guys-somebodys-gotta-be-the-villain]. Recently, Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj was asked about the Lightning giving themselves the "bad guys" tag. The left-shot defenseman quickly laughed it off and made it clear that he and the Habs are more than up for the challange. "If they want to think that, that's okay," Xhekaj said [https://x.com/ARBERXHEKAJS/status/2047354336074744125?s=20]. "We're here, and we're ready for whatever they have to offer for us." Xhekaj is well-known for his toughness and being a very hard-nosed player, so this kind of response from him is not surprising in the slightest. He thrives when the games get gritty, and he is certainly the player who the Canadiens will be relying on when it comes to the rough side of this series. Xhekaj and the Canadiens are set to play Game 3 against the Lightning on Friday. It will be interesting to see how chippy this contest ends up being. With how this series has gone so far, there should continue to be a lot of bad blood on the ice between these two rivals.
