Xhekaj could help Canadiens gain physical edge lost in Game 1

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It took just seconds for the Washington Capitals to capitalize on their physical advantage over the Montreal Canadiens in this series, but it appears as though it’ll take at least one more game for Martin St. Louis to make a change that could help neutralize that factor.

Arber Xhekaj is a six-foot-four, 240-pound deterrent, and there’s a strong case to be made St. Louis shouldn’t hesitate to deploy him in Game 2. 

The coach doesn’t need to make sweeping changes to his lineup after only losing the first game 3-2 in overtime, but this is one he can make to regain one edge that was clearly lost to the Capitals on Monday.

It doesn’t look as though St. Louis is turning to it right now, based on lines and defence pairings remaining intact in the practice Montreal held at Capital One Arena.

But he wouldn’t confirm that Tuesday.

“I have Xhekaj,” said St. Louis. “It’s a card. I might play him. I don’t know yet. But it’s (a) good (card) to have.”

The Canadiens could’ve used it as the Capitals bombarded them early and often in Game 1, throwing eight of their 42 hits before four minutes of the series had even been played. 

In between, Brendan Gallagher took a crosscheck in the teeth at one end, Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson got run over at the other, and Xhekaj watched helplessly from the press box as Jayden Struble was being short-shifted in his place.

The 24-year-old was sitting up there because he tends to go looking for trouble when it’s not there. The press box is where he’s been for all but one of the last 11 games because his decision to leave his position for a hit, which led to a two-on-one goal against in a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 28, highlighted the unnecessary risk he takes at times.

A coach shouldn’t tolerate any unnecessary risk in games of this magnitude, but if St. Louis can trust that Xhekaj has learned his lesson, Xhekaj won’t need to go looking for trouble in Game 2.

It’ll find him, and he’ll prevent it finding as many of his teammates as it did in Game 1.

St. Louis might not see it that way.

“I don’t think it’ll change the style of (Capitals agitator Tom) Wilson,” he said, and he right about that.

But Xhekaj can potentially put a scare into some of the other Capitals who played like Wilson in Game 1 but don’t customarily play that way. 

Xhekaj could also help the Canadiens stand up a little taller to the physical challenge they’ve been presented with.

“I think he just gives that extra motivation for guys maybe being a little bit more comfortable with him being out on the ice, knowing that he’s going to stick up for you and bring that toughness and that physicality,” said Josh Anderson. “And I’m sure our skill guys like having him in the lineup.”

They’ll likely have to wait at least one more game to see it.

“You watch the game and try to see where we can improve,” said St. Louis. “If you think it’s an individual, then you surely make a change. But the game’s tomorrow. Today, we’ll take in all the info and then we’ll make our decisions.”

Sitting Struble for Xhekaj doesn’t appear to be one of them

We asked St. Louis how he felt about Struble’s performance in Game 1, and he said, “I was fine with it.”

The coach didn’t take issue with anyone else’s, either.

“Overall, I can’t say that we had a player that was way off,” St. Louis said. “I thought everybody kind of felt the speed of the game early, the physicality, and that’s something… you can’t practise that. You go in the major leagues and the first time you see a 98-mile-an-hour fastball, you’re probably not going to touch it. But eventually you start maybe fouling it off, and the goal is for us to be able to hit singles and doubles eventually. I thought we did that in the third, but I know it’s going to be very difficult to keep doing that consistently. You need all five guys involved to be able to do that.”

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The ones on defence were successfully involved to varying degrees.

No Canadiens player was more effective in Game 1 than Alex Carrier, and that was from a pairing with Mike Matheson, who appeared anything but comfortable in his first playoff appearance since 2022.

Through nearly 500 minutes at five-on-five together during the regular season, this pairing faced the best players in the world night after night and handled it about as well as they could in starting only 21 per cent of their shifts in the offensive zone.

But Carrier and Guhle ran better numbers across the board as a pairing that started only 31 per cent of its shifts in the offensive zone over its 292 minutes earlier this season.

St. Louis might not want to swap Xhekaj in for someone at this point, and he may not want to shuffle his defensive deck either. But there are a couple of other cards he can play, and reuniting Carrier and Guhle feels like one that would have immediate benefits.

It would put Guhle in more of a defensive role, and it would expose Matheson a little less by thrusting him in a more offensive role.

That could also benefit Lane Hutson, who helped the Canadiens outscore their opponents 28-20 at five-on-five when paired with Matheson. 

They played 483 minutes together this season and only really ran into trouble when Matheson struggled on the right side.

But Hutson has been playing the right side with Guhle and showing very few signs of struggling from that position — even if he blamed himself for two of the three goals the Capitals scored in Game 1 — and from there, with Matheson, he can help the Canadiens stay further away from their defensive zone.

Gallagher should play Game 2

He wasn’t on the ice Tuesday but is expected to play in Game 2 Wednesday.

“He’ll be fine,” said St. Louis.

Gallagher was better than fine over his 19 shifts in Monday’s game.

He had four shots on net, nine shot attempts, three hits, and he brought that veteran presence this young Canadiens team needs.

Lines and pairings from practice

Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Kapanen*-Dvorak-Anderson
Laine-Newhook-Demidov
Heineman-Evans-Armia

Matheson-Carrier
Guhle-Hutson
Struble-Savard

*Gallagher absent

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