Canadiens: Is Xhekaj Facing The Axe?

With Kaiden Guhle ready to return to action on Friday night, Martin St-Louis decided to ice seven defensemen. The fact that Guhle had been inactive for two months must have played a part in the decision, but the fact that it would have been hard to decide which one to scratch could have as well. Asked about him after the game, the coach said:

As for what pushed St-Louis to use a seven-defenseman lineup, he simply said “a bit of everything.” Make of that what you will.

On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens will face the Florida Panthers and considering Guhle pretty much hit the ground running, it would be surprising to see St-Louis stick to an 11-7 formation. Which defenseman should make way for a forward?

Considering how little Arber Xhekaj played on Friday night, he instantly becomes the prime candidate. While some will say his deficient read on the Carolina Hurricanes’ third goal explains his reduced ice time, the fact remains that this goal happened at 16:10 in the second frame, and much of the game had already been played. Of course, the goal led to him only seeing one more shift in the game (four seconds in the final frame), but even without it, he would have been last in ice time.

While I believe Xhekaj's physicality offers a significant upside, the Canadiens are in must-win mode, and the game plan must be well executed, including making appropriate reads and risk assessments.

Yes, Mike Matheson makes his share of mistakes, but his offensive contribution makes up for them, and the same can be said for Lane Hutson. Even with some defensive mistakes, he is too important to the Canadiens to sit and shouldn't even be mentioned in this discussion.

David Savard has lost a step this season, and while Kaiden Guhle is just as efficient at blocking shots, the veteran is a big part of the penalty kill. Xhekaj has been used on that unit at times, but since his performance on Friday night was far from comforting, I struggle to see how St-Louis could give him more responsibilities.

Alexandre Carrier plays safely and predictably, something a coach values, so he should also be safe, which leaves us with Jayden Struble. While Xhekaj saw the least time on ice on Friday, Struble spent over 14 minutes on the ice (five more than Savard), blocked a shot, and landed four hits. He has also formed a very good pairing with Hutson of late. Scratching him wouldn’t be fair or very good for the team culture. Ice time has to be earned, and he has earned it.

For all these reasons, I wouldn’t be surprised if Xhekaj came out of the lineup to face the Cats, even if they do have some players who like to step over the line sometimes. Although, it could be an idea to put him on the wing of the fourth line, give Joel Armia a break and bring back Joshua Roy. It would be a more conservation 12-6 lineup, and everyone could shoot.