Florian Xhekaj in preseason action with the Montreal Canadiens. Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7a67b78c-6e78-4370-a8b5-70e0fec72117.jpeg] Florian Xhekaj in preseason action with the Montreal Canadiens. Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images The Laval Rocket ended its season with a 5-4 win over the Belleville Senators. Since the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] had already clinched the league’s championship, coach Pascal Vincent opted to rest some of his regulars and iced his “B” lineup. Canadiens: Preparing For The Capitals’ Terrorizing Power Play [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-preparing-for-the-capitals-terrorizing-power-play] Playoffs Primer: Canadiens Vs. Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/playoffs-primer-canadiens-vs-capitals] Spencer Carbery Is Tricky [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/spencer-carbery-is-tricky] Those who didn’t benefit from a night off were Florian Xhekaj, Owen Beck, and recently signed goaltender Jacob Fowler. The young netminder gave up four goals on 31 shots, finishing his night with a .871 save percentage. Not a brilliant result, to say the least, but Laval’s defense was not as strong as it usually is. Beck, Tuch, and Noel Hoefenmayer each picked up a goal while Xhekaj scored a pair, including the overtime winner. Now that the season is over, we can say just how impressive the youngest Xhekaj’s first professional season has been. He finishes the year with 24 goals and 11 assists for 35 points, but he also put up 175 penalty minutes, meaning he entered a very select club. Only three other players in AHL history have scored at least 20 goals while putting up at least 150 penalty minutes. Shaun Van Allen scored 25 goals and 182 penalty minutes with the Cape Breton Oilers in 1990-91, but he was 24 years old and in his fourth pro season. He went on to play 794 games in the NHL. Zenon Konopka scored 24 goals and racked up 194 penalty minutes in 2007-08 with the Syracuse Crunch, but he was 27 years old and in his sixth professional season. He went on to play 346 games in the NHL. Former Hab Cédric Paquette was the last to accomplish the feat in 2013-14 with the Crunch. He’s the only one, aside from Xhekaj, who can do it in his first professional season. He played 448 games in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20. He played his last 24 NHL games with the Canadiens. There’s no guarantee that Xhekaj will be able to have that kind of career, but his first season certainly is an encouraging sign, and he looks like a good candidate for an energy line in Montreal down the line. This season, he also pulverised the rookie goal scoring record in Laval which stood at 17. When he scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Saturday night, he celebrated in a particular fashion, not taking the time to celebrate with his teammates and heading straight to the dressing room, as if to say, “Time to get on with the real business!” Thanks to winning the league championship, the Rocket has a bye for the first round of the playoffs and will face the winner of the Cleveland Monsters—Toronto Marlies duel. A team only needs to win three games to move on to the division semifinal. The Monsters have won seven of the eight duels between the two sides this season and look to be the favorites in that series. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
