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For the past few weeks, Arber Xhekaj had been struggling to win his fights.
But today, against Scott Sabourin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Sheriff found his bearings. In a violent fight, the Canadiens' player put his opponent down with a single blow.
It was a short fight, but purple.
The knees of #72's opponent gave out. And Xhekaj realized it was dangerous, quickly calling for medical assistance to help Sabourin.
The referees also made sure that the Lightning player, who is in the NHL to play physically, was able to retreat to the dressing room safely.
Arber Xhekaj will knock you out and then call over the trainer to make sure you're okay.
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 28, 2025
It was quite a blow, in any case.
Will this fight restore the confidence of the Canadiens' player, who seems to have lost his mojo for… a very long time? We'll have to wait and see.
But with the defenseman battling it out with Jayden Struble and Adam Engstrom to keep his place in the sun, any method is good enough to keep him in the lineup.
Remember that today, it's Engstrom who's not playing.
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Yesterday's game between the Lightning and Panthers stirred up a lot of drama. Clearly, Jon Cooper's boys still had it in them.
Let's hope Sabourin is correct.
