A fine for Arber Xhekaj (but nothing for Josh Norris)

Marc-Olivier Cook
A fine for Arber Xhekaj (but nothing for Josh Norris)
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Last night, at the end of the Canadiens vs. Sabres game, things got heated.

Arber Xhekaj knocked Sam Carrick out with a punch, while Zachary Bolduc was tangled up with Josh Norris and Logan Stanley.

Norris landed a solid uppercut on him, and we wondered if the league would come down hard on him.

In the end, no… Norris didn't get a slap on the wrist from the NHL.

But the same can't be said for Arber Xhekaj, as the Canadiens defenseman was fined ($3,385). Beck Malenstyn was also fined by the NHL for shoving Jakub Dobes in the second period.

I'll echo my colleague Maxime Truman: seeing Xhekaj get punished while Norris gets off scot-free… it's pretty ridiculous.

I don't excuse Arber's actions.

He hit Carrick dangerously, and we're trying to put a stop to hits like that in the National League. That said… if you're going to punish Xhekaj, you have to do the same with Norris.

That's what doesn't hold water, and that's why the league is making a fool of itself (again).

Because we never want to see that on the ice either. It's vicious… and it could have been dangerous for Bolduc: 

But anyway.

I guess the good news in all this is knowing that the Sheriff won't be suspended. He'll be available for Game #4, and I wonder if Martin St-Louis will call on his services for the matchup.

Xhekaj might get chased around quite a bit if that's the case. But we know he's more than capable of defending himself…


Overtime

Remember that Ridly Greig, for his part, was suspended for the first two games of next season after delivering a hit similar to Norris's during the Senators vs. Hurricanes series.

Why wasn't Norris suspended? 

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