Gotta see it: Canadiens Defenceman Xhekaj Fights MacEwen

This is far from the first incident involving the Canadiens and the Senators. Last week, the two teams met in an extremely violent contest that led to injuries, fights, and a lot of special teams play. The festivities were kicked off by Senators super pest Ridly Greig, who hit Canadiens forward Kirby Dach with a late hit in the early parts of the first period. Dach was forced to retreat to the locker room, and from there on end, the game devolved into a grudge match, with Canadiens players going out of their way to get their pound of flesh, as this was the second injury to a star player they had witnessed in as many games. Newcomer Patrik Laine had been injured in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in which a minor-league player was caught out of position and extended his leg, resulting in an ugly knee-on-knee incident.

Dach eventually returned to the game and fought Greig, sending a message that the team and the player aren’t going to be the NHL’s whipping boy anymore. Simply put, if the NHL is not interested in protecting players, it’s only logical that said players will take matters into their own hands. Unsurprisingly, Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj got involved, and was kicked out following a late hit on Tim Stutzle. The expulsion was followed by a parade of penalties on both sides, not to mention several players succumbing to injuries in what was a meaningless preseason game.