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Montreal Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj participated in a rather spirited fight on Sunday night, facing off with New York Rangers tough guy Matt Rempe.
The fight went back and forth, but Xhekaj definitely got the best of his opponent in terms of clean shots, especially when we consider Rempe had his gloves off and was punching before Xhekaj had time to drop his mitts.
IT’S THE HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT EVERYONE WAS WAITING FOR: ARBER XHEKAJ VS. MATT REMPE 🥊 pic.twitter.com/aNmWDZlvqw
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 20, 2025
This came on the heels of an earlier tussle between Josh Anderson and Braden Schneider, which saw the Rangers’ player head back to the locker room for repairs after he cut his nose on his visor.
Arber Xhekaj and Rempe had a lengthy chat before the puck drop, signalling that a bout was on the docket at the Bell Centre as the original six teams prepared to clash.
73 👀 72 pic.twitter.com/9E0yXxqBV4
— Bryan Mudryk (@BryanMudryk) January 19, 2025
It was only Xhekaj’s fourth fight of the season, with AJ Greer, Pat Maroon, and Mathieu Olivier serving as his previous opponents. All things considered, even though the 23-year-old is among the best fighters in the league, there’s no need for him to prove his mettle as often he did in previous years, making his reduced fight card a wise choice when it comes to endurance and durability. He’s a useful player for his team, unlike many of his opponents.
As for Rempe, he’s an attempted hockey player that has only been given more than 10 minutes of ice time once in his career, and is fresh off an eight-game suspension after he boarded Dallas Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen. It was the fourth time in his short time in the NHL that saw Rempe ejected from a game, and it was also his second suspension following an illegal hit to the head of New Jersey Devils defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler. Suffice it to say, there’s very little actual hockey taking place whenever Rempe is on the ice,
Habs Highlights: Xhekaj Fights Rempe, Canadiens Resiliency
Canadiens Preview And Lines: Red-Hot Rookie Dobes Set To Start
I love xhekaj so much. I seriously hope he’s our long term bottom pair option, perhaps beside Konyushkov or Mailloux or something. No he’s not a top pair guy of the future, but you need good depth and he’s seriously raised his floor. So smart not to take the bait against reaves up 3-0, sparks his team today, he’s learned when and when not to (though rempe did kinda just drop em and start swinging). He solid in his play performance, defends his teammates, looks to be very well liked in the room. Just love him. So glad we have him.
Can’t agree more. He is deceptively mobile and with a better more agile partner, he will be able to use his mobility and puck carrying ability more effectively. A tough guy that can actually play is a commodity that is hard to come by and should be valued.
So now everyone knows why Arber didn’t accept the challenge of the Leafs so-called enforcer last night (besides the fact it was 3-0 for Mtl at the time). He had to deal with Rempe tonight. It was a fore-gone conclusion. And while we are at it, can we please sign another tough guy (no disrespect to Pezzetta). I would prefer Olivier, but any major league fighter will do. Arber can’t — he can’t — be expected to do all the heavy fights.
As regards this one, something I noticed about Arber’s strategy (and it’s one Olivier used last year when he fed Rempe his lunch) was that mid-way through the fight Arber switched to punching left handed. Rempe had no response. That guy is going to have have serious health issues if he continues taking so many punches to the head.
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