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Arber Xhekaj will not be fighting Niko Mikkola tonight because he will not be playing
Marc-Olivier Cook
Arber Xhekaj will not be fighting Niko Mikkola tonight because he will not be playing
Credit: Getty Images
The Canadiens practiced this morning at the Bell Centre in preparation for their game tonight against the Panthers.

Kirby Dach was there to watch the practice.

TVA Sports cameras caught him chatting with his coach, Martin St-Louis. And Kirby looked in good spirits :

After practice, the Canadiens’ pilot spoke with reporters on site and provided details about the lineup he will use against the Panthers tonight.

And it’s not complicated: there will be no changes to the lineup.

So Arber Xhekaj will (again) sit out, just like Joshua Roy.

And that also means Michael Pezzetta will be in uniform. Emil Heineman will keep his spot on the second unit :

Clearly, Joshua Roy has lost points in the eyes of his coach and the organization.

Because if Martin St-Louis has more confidence in Pezzetta – who doesn’t play much when he’s in uniform -, it says a lot.

Especially in the context where the Habs coach is talking about tonight’s game as the most important of the season.

This sends a message (important) to Roy, but also to Xhekaj…

Since there will be no changes to the lineup, you’ll understand that Samuel Montembeault will get the start against the Panthers.

Monty did well on Saturday in Florida: he stopped 24 of 26 shots directed at him and earned his 26th win of the season.

It’s up to him to keep going tonight to help his team earn important points in the standings.


Overtime

Let’s recall that at the end of Saturday’s game, Niko Mikkola shot at the Canadiens’ net with only a few seconds left on the clock.

It started to stir… and it was logical to think that Xhekaj would play tonight to send him a message. #TheFamousCode

But Xhekaj won’t be able to fight the Panthers’ defenseman since he won’t be playing.

That being said, will we see Pezz drop the gloves tonight?

If I had an old $2 to bet, I’d say the answer to that question is yes…

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