Last night, Arber Xhekaj watched the Montreal Canadiens face off against the New York Rangers, where Jacob Trouba delivered a heavy hit on Justin Barron. The footage shows Trouba lining Barron up and striking him directly in the chest with his elbow, yet there was no penalty assessed for the hit. In fact, the Department of Player Safety determined it didn’t warrant a fine or suspension.
Many fans were upset that Xhekaj wasn’t in the lineup for this game since he is known for his willingness to fight and would likely have confronted Trouba had he played. Today, while speaking with the media, Xhekaj expressed disappointment about being a healthy scratch and suggested he would have reacted to Trouba’s hit if he had been there. He warned that such hits won’t be forgotten and that their next game would have consequences.
This situation is definitely intriguing, especially since Xhekaj has been having a hard time getting into the Canadiens’ lineup lately. It remains to be seen if Martin St. Louis will choose to start Xhekaj in their next matchup against the Rangers, considering the need for retaliation.
