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Arber Xhekaj Breaks Silence on 'Craziest' Brawl in Canadiens-Capitals

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Apr 26, 2025 5:56 AM ET

Arber Xhekaj couldn't have picked a better day to make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, helping the Montreal Canadiens secure a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals at Bell Centre.

That's because Xhekaj's presence on the ice helped spark a more physical, aggressive approach from Montreal.

Xhekaj got his teammates ignited and hypercharged before the most chaotic moment in the playoffs erupted midway through Game 3.

Late in the second period, tensions boiled over when Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson fought near and into the Capitals’ bench, leading to a full-blown melee that saw multiple players assessed penalties.

After the game, Xhekaj was asked for his reaction to the mayhem.

“That’s hockey,” Xhekaj said. “It’s the craziest thing ever. I never seen a fight on the bench like that, but, I mean, yeah, it’s hockey, and that’s all.”

"It was the craziest thing ever."

Even Arber Xhekaj couldn’t believe what he was seeing tonight after the second period pic.twitter.com/kiRmwBeJha
— BarDown (@BarDown) April 26, 2025

Xhekaj also reflected on what his presence brought to the Canadiens' lineup.

“I’m not sure,” Xhekaj said. “I think I just try and make everyone grow a few inches out there on our team, and I feel like we did tonight, and we had really good push back, and we played ball.”

Xhekaj’s physical style was a major factor throughout the game, finishing with four hits and a +1 rating in 10:05 of ice time.

"This was brewing, and it was brewing ever since Xhekaj showed up on the ice for warmup."@FriedgeHNIC breaks down the impact Xhekaj is making just by being in the Canadiens' lineup tonight. pic.twitter.com/swqrlVpUkA
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2025

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa agreed that his presence emboldened the Canadiens as the Habs entered Game 3 down 2-0 to the Capitals.

"They start to go after Wilson a little bit," Friedman said. "He hits Evans, look at Demidov, he takes the legs out from underneath him. You're not thinking that he [Demidov] is the kinda of guy to do that."

“Everyone gets 20 pounds (heavier) and grows 3 inches bigger (with Xhekaj in the lineup),” Bieksa said. “They all feel like they can take shots at Wilson, because at the end of the day, Anderson or Xhekaj is gonna be the one that answers the bells.”

The Canadiens carried the fighting spirit to a pivotal win, with Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Alexandre Carrier, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Nick Suzuki all scoring one goal for the Habs on Friday.

On a negative note, rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes had to replace injured starter Sam Montembeault midway through the second period, with the latter's status for Game 4 unknown.

The Canadiens now trail the Capitals 2-1 in the series and will look to tie it up in Game 4 at Bell Centre in Montreal on Sunday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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