Arber Xhekaj must play (as a forward) against the Panthers on Tuesday

The habs have only nine games left to play in their last push towards the playoffs (or the no man’s land).

The team is currently holding the eighth and last playoff spot in the East… but no less than four other teams are seriously eyeing this position: the Rangers, the Blue Jackets, the Red Wings, and the Islanders.

According to MoneyPuck, the habs have a 39% chance of finishing the season in eighth place in their conference, ahead of the Rangers (33%) and the Blue Jackets (15%).

Impossible to be more in the mix than that. The habs will play significant games over the next three weeks where they will have to win to hope to keep their Wild Card position. The guys will grow and learn from these highly significant games.

After suffering five consecutive losses, the habs managed to stop the bleeding yesterday afternoon in Florida. They had to do it.

The good news for the habs: the team has the fifth easiest schedule in the entire NHL until the end of the season. An easier schedule than the other teams in the (only) playoff race.

The habs will face four teams that will definitely not make the playoffs, the Panthers (who they have beaten all season), the Hurricanes who already know their final ranking and their opponent in the first round, the Senators who have secured their playoff spot, the Maple Leafs who may rest players at the end of the regular season… and the Red Wings, with whom the habs are fighting for the last playoff spot in the East.

And six of these nine games will be played in front of the team’s fans at the Centre Bell.

It’s also up to them not to be caught off guard by a disorganized team that has nothing to lose in their last games, like the Capitals against the Sabres last night, but…

Mikkola, Xhekaj, Pezzetta, Savard, and the last spot in the lineup
There’s an old saying that goes: if it works, don’t fix it.

Head coaches usually respect this old saying.

Since the habs managed to stop their losing streak yesterday in Florida, one might think that Martin St-Louis won’t change his lineup.

But Niko Mikkola, with his unnecessary and dangerous slap shot towards David Savard at the end of the game, might force Martin St-Louis to make a change.

Niko Mikkola fired up a puck towards the Habs end in the final seconds, and the Canadiens DID NOT like it pic.twitter.com/IKD6hmz1VY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 30, 2025

The code would want someone on the habs to go after Mikkola during tomorrow’s game at the Centre Bell. And if Mikkola refuses to drop the gloves, the habs might even go after a star player from the Panthers.

But Mikkola is 6’6″. I don’t see David Savard or even Michael Pezzetta dropping the gloves with Mikkola.

Except that Mikkola is not a big fighter. He has only six fights in the NHL… almost all against smaller opponents. You know, when you fight Maxime Comtois…

Xhekaj on the attack
It seems clear to me that Arber Xhekaj’s presence would be a good idea tomorrow night. Who better than Arber Xhekaj to go tell Mikkola that the habs are standing up for themselves, that what he did on Sunday wasn’t right?

But Matheson, Guhle, Carrier, Hutson, and even Struble are playing too well to be taken out of the lineup.

And David Savard can’t be left out; he’s excellent on the penalty kill and his presence in the dressing room and on the bench reassures everyone.

I see two options for MSL: playing with seven defensemen and sending Pezzetta, who only played 5:43 on Sunday, to the stands with Joshua Roy…

Or using Arber Xhekaj at forward.

It’s been months since I’ve been saying that I’d like to see the habs try this. Why? Because there won’t be a spot on the top six defense for Xhekaj when the team is mature, but there could be one on the fourth line. Maybe even alongside his brother Florian?

Stéphane Leroux shares my opinion on this matter.

A. Xhekaj left out in favor of Pezzetta!

Why not try Xhekaj at forward?

When the #CH will aspire to great honors, Xhekaj will not be in the top six defensemen.

If we want to take advantage of his robustness, let’s try him at forward #OnJase

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) March 30, 2025

Nicolas Deslauriers was a defenseman and was converted to a forward in similar circumstances.

Closer to home in Montreal, Mark Streit and Mathieu Dandenault switched from defense to forward during their careers.

It happens.

But Renaud Lavoie reminded us this morning on BPM Sports that Sheldon Souray was used at forward in a game with the habs… and it didn’t go well. It never happened again.

Xhekaj as a seventh defenseman didn’t work last Friday. He didn’t even play four minutes during the game and managed to make a bad pinch that cost his team a goal.

I think it’s time to try him for real at forward. If there had been a practice this morning, it would have been the perfect time to test it and have a good discussion with him.

I know, the mix is not the perfect time to try new things – they should have been done earlier in the season -, but a potential mistake by Xhekaj in coverage would hurt less if he plays at wing than if he plays defense…

Yes, it’s hard to switch from playing behind the game to playing in front of the game in April in the best league in the world…

But it seems to me a scenario that deserves to be considered.

Because Niko Mikkola…