Montreal's Arber Xhekaj Absolutely Flattens Zemgus Girgensons of the Buffalo Sabres

It seems whatever the Montreal Canadiens are attempting to do with defenceman Arber Xhekaj, it's working. After spending his entire rookie season with the team last year, Xhekaj was sent to the minors this season to work on his game. It seems he's received the message.

Xhekaj scored a goal in his last game, which was against the New York Rangers. He was also a noticeable presence on the ice for that match. Tonight, he's scored another against the Buffalo Sabres, and also showed he's always looking for an opening as he just flattened Zemgus Girgensons with a huge hit just after Girgensons has passed the puck to a teammate and crossed the Habs blueline. Girgensons helmet was driven off his head by the impact, although his strap stopped it from being entirely knocked loose.


Here's a closer angle on the hit.



Earlier in the game, Xhekaj decided to dish out some punishment to Casey Mittelstadt for a hit on teammate Jake Evans. Xhekaj was relentless.


It seems the Canadiens felt Xhekaj had started making bad decisions somewhere along the line, and wanted him to sort it out in the minors before coming back up. Xhekaj has to play like this to keep a spot in the lineup, with an edge but without taking bad penalties.