Xhekaj recorded an assist, two blocked shots, five PIM and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
Xhekaj was busy in the second period, fighting Mathieu Olivier before helping out on Nick Suzuki's tally shortly after Xhekaj's major penalty expired. The helper was Xhekaj's first point of the campaign. He's added 30 hits, 19 PIM, 12 blocked shots, 13 shots on goal and a minus-3 rating over 15 appearances. The 23-year-old defenseman could have some stability in the lineup if David Savard (upper body) is out beyond missing Saturday's contest.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Xhekaj had three hits in Saturday's 5-2 win over St. Louis.
Xhekaj was a healthy scratch for two straight games before returning to action in Saturday's victory. He got to play due to the absences of Justin Barron (upper body) and Kaiden Guhle (upper body). Xhekaj could get regular playing time due to Montreal's banged-up blue line. He has 13 hits over six appearances.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Back on ice
Rotowire
Xhekaj (shoulder) is skating with his Canadiens teammates ahead of training camp, per Luc Gelinas of RDS on Wednesday.
Xhekaj missed the final seven regular-season contests in 2023-24, but he's slated to be ready for the upcoming campaign. The 23-year-old defenseman had three goals, 10 points, 81 PIM and 125 hits across 44 outings last year.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Inks two-year deal
Rotowire
Xhekaj (shoulder) signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract with Montreal on Tuesday.
Xhekaj was limited to just 44 NHL games last season, in part due to his shoulder problem, but could be in the mix for a full-time lineup spot this upcoming campaign. Still, even if the blueliner does make the Opening Night roster, he is far from a lock for playing time and could find himself periodically sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch. He'll need to stave off the likes of Justin Barron to maintain a spot on the third pairing.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Out for the year
Rotowire
Xhekaj (shoulder) will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder.
Xhekaj played in 44 games for the Canadians this season, recording three goals and seven assists. He's expected to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Logs assist in win
Rotowire
Xhekaj had an assist, three shots on net, two blocks and three hits in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Columbus.
Xhekaj's slapshot was deflected home by Joshua Roy, giving Montreal a 3-0 lead six minutes into the game. It was the third assist in last six contest for Xhekaj, whose game has come around since partnering up with veteran David Savard on the second pair.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Slides assist, fights in loss
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Xhekaj had an assist, four shots on net, three blocks, five hits and a five-minute major penalty in Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to Tampa Bay.
Xhekaj picked up the secondary helper on a Josh Anderson tally that gave Montreal a 3-2 lead early in the third period. It was the second straight game with an assist for Xhekaj. He leads Montreal with 65 PIM in just 30 games.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Scores in loss
Rotowire
Xhekaj scored a goal on three shots and had one hit over 16:35 of ice time in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Washington.
Xhekaj unloaded a bomb from the point that eluded Darcy Kuemper for Montreal's first goal. It was the second goal of the season for Xhekaj and his first since being recalled from AHL Laval in late January. He's been in and out of the lineup since the recall, but Xhekaj is playing regularly now with Jordan Harris (upper body) sidelined.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Rings post for assist
Rotowire
Xhekaj had an assist and two blocked shots over 12:29 of ice time in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Capitals.
Xhekaj had one missed shot but it made a lot of noise, caroming off the post and onto the stick of Nick Suzuki, who scored his second goal in a span of 57 seconds. The helper was Xhekaj's first point since being recalled from AHL Laval on Jan. 22.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Scratched Saturday
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Xhekaj was a healthy scratch for Saturday's game against the Penguins.
Xhekaj had played in two straight games after a call-up from AHL Laval before taking a seat in the press box Saturday. Jordan Harris returned to the active lineup in place of Xhekaj.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Recalled from AHL
Rotowire
Xhekaj was brought up from AHL Laval on Monday.
Xhekaj has one goal, two assists, 14 shots on net, 41 hits, 12 blocked shots and 47 PIM in 17 NHL outings this season. He could be back in the lineup Tuesday against Ottawa after Justin Barron was demoted to the minors Monday.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Added to IR
Rotowire
Xhekaj (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Friday.
The designation is retroactive to Xhekaj's last game, which was Nov. 16 against Vegas, so he can be activated whenever he is cleared to return. The blueliner did not travel with the team on the road. In a corresponding move, Montreal recalled Joel Armia from AHL Laval, and he will join the team for Saturday afternoon's tilt against the Kings.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Unavailable Saturday
Rotowire
Xhekaj (upper body) won't play Saturday against Boston, Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette reports.
Xhekaj is listed as day-to-day after sustaining an upper-body injury in Thursday's 6-5 loss to Vegas. He has supplied one goal, two assists, 47 PIM, 12 blocked shots and 41 hits in 17 games this season. Xhekaj will be replaced in the lineup by Jordan Harris (upper body), who will return from a two-game absence.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Won't finish Thursday's game
Rotowire
Xhekaj suffered an upper-body injury and won't return to Thursday's game versus the Golden Knights.
Xhekaj appeared to injure his left shoulder after sustaining a hit. It's not his surgically repaired right shoulder, which was an injury that ended his 2022-23 campaign prematurely. The 22-year-old defenseman can be considered day-to-day until another update is available.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Chips in with assist in win
Rotowire
Xhekaj posted an assist in Monday's 3-1 road victory against the Sabres.
The point was his first since also posting an apple in the wild 6-5 shootout loss Oct. 11 against the Maple Leafs. He also had a plus-1 rating, two shots on goal and a minor penalty Monday, giving him at least one infraction in four of five games this season. Xhekaj has 23 PIM through five outings, helping fantasy managers in formats rewarding bad behavior.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Whistled early and often
Rotowire
Xhekaj had an assist, three hits and 17 PIM in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout loss to Toronto.
Xhekaj is no stranger to the physical side of hockey and wasted little time mixing it up. All three of his penalties -- two minutes for instigating a fight, five minutes for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct -- were assessed in the first period for his brawl with noted tough guy Ryan Reaves. Xhekaj later produced an assist in the third period when his shot from the point was tipped in by Alex Newhook. Xhekaj had 159 hits and 101 PIM over 51 games in 2022-23.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Expected for Wednesday
Rotowire
Xhekaj is expected to suit up for Montreal in Wednesday's season opener against Toronto, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.
Xhekaj was not on the ice during Tuesday's practice, because the Canadiens sent him down to AHL Laval in what amounts to a paper transaction. Montreal general manager Kent Hughes had to juggle to get under the salary cap, hence sending the defenseman to the Rocket. Xhekaj should be in the lineup Wednesday as both Christian Dvorak (knee) and Carey Price (knee) have been added to long-term injured reserve.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Done for season
Rotowire
Xhekaj (shoulder) will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder next week.
Xhekaj has already been out for six games, and now his rookie year will come to a close. The 22-year-old defenseman ended with 13 points, 159 hits, 101 PIM, 75 shots on goal and 46 blocked shots in 51 contests. He is already on injured reserve, and it's unclear if his recovery from the surgery will impact him ahead of next season's training camp.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Adds to power play
Rotowire
Xhekaj had a power-play goal and assist in Thursday's 7-2 loss to Carolina. He added three shots on goal and three hits over 19:26 of ice time.
Xhekaj gave Montreal's last-in-the-NHL power play a lift in the first period as a response to Aleksander Barkov's hat trick. The rookie defenseman, who averages 39 seconds on the power play, was added to the unit this week and skated a combined 7:43 with the man advantage in losses to the Lightning and Hurricanes. He told Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette that being on the power play is "starting to click." Xhekaj has three points on the power play over 34 games.
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Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Returns to lineup, scores
Rotowire
Xhekaj scored a goal on two shots over 16:05 of ice time in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Columbus.
A scoreless game after two periods broke open in the third. Ninety seconds after the Blue Jackets opened the scoring, Xhekaj's shot from the point made it through traffic for his third goal of the season. The blueline carousel continued for Montreal; Xhekaj and Johnny Kovacevic were back in the lineup Wednesday after being healthy scratches Tuesday. They replaced Chris Wideman and Jordan Harris.
