Western road swings are rarely kind to the Montreal Canadiens, and this latest one appears unlikely to buck that trend. After a defeat in Calgary, the Habs remained in Alberta to face the Edmonton Oilers, mounting a two-goal comeback in the third period only to fall in overtime. If not for an accidental high-stick by Joel Armia late in the third period, they may have had a real chance at taking the game once they got there.
But points in the standings grow less important by the game, and the Habs should take solace in the fact that they outplayed the Oilers through most of regulation. A big part of that was the play of Arber Xhekaj, who has been improving rapidly since his short stint with the Laval Rocket.
Only seeing less minutes than Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson among defenders, Xhekaj was an absolute force for the Habs against the Oilers. Even-strength scoring chances were 10-4 in their favour when he was on the ice, high-danger chances were 4-0, leading to an expected-goals for percentage of 84.70%. He tilted the ice for his team, and this is just the latest in a string of games where this seems to be becoming a trend.
Limiting high-danger chances has always been one of his weak points, but it’s becoming a strength. His physicality used to be a double-edged sword – fun to watch, and yet putting him out of position at times – but he’s been much more reserved of late, making for a punishing and effective defensive game. You’re not getting much going against him in his zone, and his ability to turn the play the other way means the Habs are heading up ice whenever Xhekaj is out there.
We saw Mike Matheson make a questionable outlet pass that partly facilitated Connor McDavid’s goal in the first period. I can’t think of a single outlet pass on Xhekaj’s part that even caused me to raise an eyebrow. He’s been extremely patient and smart with the puck on breakouts of late, and when you combine that with how imposing he is without the puck, he’s really been quite the presence.
We know the Habs are going to have to trade some defensemen, likely as soon as this coming offseason. The way Xhekaj is coming along, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the team should even consider making him one of those players on the move.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. The road trip will continue this Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks, and we’ll be back with another episode, even though it will be Friday for most of us by the time that game ends.
