I understand that the topic of the day is Arber Xhekaj.
The Habs got their asses kicked yesterday. The check totals of the Capitals (44) and the Habs (33) don’t even begin to show the extent of Washington’s physical superiority. Their hits were bigger and drained a lot more momentum, especially in the first two periods. 100%, I’m clearly not going to dwell on that.
So it’s only natural to turn to Martin St-Louis’ hardest-hitting card , which has a reputation for getting the crowd on its feet and waking up his teammates. Totally normal.
But let’s not let all this third-pair debate distract us from one thing. One thing is crystal clear to me: the Habs were no match for the Capitals.
And Xhekaj wouldn’t change things that much.
Through the collective rose-colored glasses shopping surrounding Ivan Demidov’s arrival, many observers have made a very (too) easy and very unsupported shortcut, namely that “the Capitals are going to have a downer after experiencing the high of Ovi’s record”.
Guys, have you missed the last, what, 174 days? You know, the ones in which Washington won 51 games and had the second-best record in the league…
But above all, have you considered that the Capitals are… really big, really fat, really strong? We’re talking about an imposing, playoff-bound team that ranks second in average height and sixth in average weight in the NHL.
The Canadiens, on the other hand, rank in the middle of the pack for weight, but second-to-last for height. And there are no players of the stature of Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson in the Capitals’ first two units.
I’m not saying that the physical aspect is the whole equation, but one fact remains: it’s not necessarily the CH’s identity. In Montreal, we finish the checks, but we’re not mean.
A lack of personnel, perhaps, but above all a decision by the coaching staff. We already knew that Xhekaj wasn’t the favorite. With Martin St-Louis’ six favorite defensemen, the Sheriff has skipped his turn in nine of the Canadiens’ last ten games.
In a nutshell. Are you surprised that Montreal got its ass kicked by Washington? You shouldn’t be…
And yet… The Habs took the best team in the East to overtime last night.
If St-Louis and his assistants decided that their best way to win was without #72, it’s because they believe in this recipe. Let’s face it, spanking everything in your path isn’t the only strategy that works in the playoffs. The proof? I repeat: the Habs took the best team in the East to overtime last night, without Xhekaj, and thanks to a late-game domination of the Caps.
The devil’s advocate would tell you that changing the lineup of a club that forced overtime against a superior club wouldn’t be the best of ideas.
Let’s calm down a bit, and reassess after game #2.
-1745297559-q80.webp "Why Flyers Are Strong Fit for Frustrating Exiled Sharks Goalie")