MONTREAL — For just a few seconds on Saturday afternoon, Canadiens fans at the Bell Centre got to pay tribute to Alex Romanov, a young defenceman who played each and every one of his 137 games (regular season and playoffs combined) like any one of them could be his last in a bleu, blanc et rouge uniform.
But for 21:12 of this 4-3 overtime win for the Canadiens, who were wearing bleu poudre et bleu foncé jerseys (mercifully) for a last time this season, those fans got a pretty good glimpse of one of the biggest reasons the energetic, physical blue liner became expendable in the 2022 draft-day deal that paved the way for Kirby Dach’s trade to Montreal.
That was the amount of ice-time 6-foot-4, 238-pounder Arber Xhekaj played, and, if fans surveyed it closely, they’d have come away feeling that much more accepting of the move that sent such a beloved player out the door back in July.
The stat sheet said Xhekaj was minus-2. The advanced statistics showed the Canadiens controlled less than 20 per cent of the shots at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice.
But, as head coach Martin St. Louis pointed out afterwards, what we saw from Xhekaj in the game painted a much clearer picture of how far this player has come since the beginning of the season.
That Xhekaj, who was passed over in multiple NHL drafts, was even paired with David Savard and deployed against the Islanders’ top line of Josh Bailey, Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal for most of the afternoon said much.
“He’s come a long way,” said Dach, who scored the goal that made it 3-3 with 3:16 to play. “He’s been phenomenal all year, but he keeps getting better and better and better. He works so hard. He’s in the gym every day, he’s on the ice doing extra work with our skill guys or the D coach, Robi, or anything trying to improve. I’ve seen him do video all the time, whether I’m just walking through the locker room or he’s on the plane doing something. He’s pretty dialled into the craft and getting better.”
The 21-year-old has been good all season but, stats be damned, he was better than good in this game—killing plays and offensive momentum for New York’s top line throughout, transitioning the puck to offence efficiently through his impressive skating and his unheralded passing, jumping into the offence at the right times, and having a presence on every shift.
Xhekaj did get caught on the ice for Brock Nelson’s goal in the first period, and he was also out there for the goal that made it 3-2 Islanders.
The one that ironically came off Romanov’s stick and got tipped in by Matt Martin.
But Xhekaj was faultless on that play and the one that saw Nelson score, and he was flawless on several others.
The Hamilton, Ont., native had three shots on goal in the game, was highly effective over his 1:22 on the power play, and he was a force in the intimidating way Romanov could be in his brief but exciting time as a Canadien—registering three punishing hits.
“I think there’s a lot more space out there when you have him,” said Dach. “I think it definitely speaks to a lot of respect that he’s gained in this league, and he’s done it the hard way. He’s fought a lot of the heavyweights. He’s had to fight and scratch and claw his way to the NHL, and he continues to do that every night.
"I think that’s what makes him so effective is that he’s never taking a night off. He doesn’t take it for granted. He’s here to work and earn a spot and continue to earn a spot, and it definitely helps our guys play a little bit bigger, a little bit taller, and definitely gives you a little more time and space out there and makes guys second guess when they maybe have you in a vulnerable spot or your head’s down and they want to bury you, because then they’ve gotta deal with Arber.”
But dealing with Xhekaj as a player—and not just a puncher—is becoming a lot harder, and that’s a function of the opportunity the Canadiens are giving him.
“Obviously, they’re trusting me to play against those top guys, and it makes me believe in my game,” he said. “It comes with me believing in myself, too. And I’m learning so much.”
St. Louis and Canadiens defence coach Stephane Robidas paired Xhekaj with Stanley Cup winner Joel Edmundson for several games earlier this season, and he’s gaining quality experience with Savard now.
“I always say you can’t buy those reps, and I know it’s a tough task (facing top lines),” St. Louis said. “Him and Savvy are paired together and Jaco is very comfortable playing with a veteran like Savvy. Savvy makes him very comfortable during the game and probably does some correction on the bench with him, so I think these reps with him, at that pace and against those players, is so valuable because not only is he experiencing them live and in the trenches but he’s also experiencing them with Savvy. And I think Savvy does a lot of coaching.”
Dach said he gained so much from that type of experience in his first years playing with Blackhawks Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw in Chicago, and look at how he’s applying it now during this breakout campaign with the Canadiens.
Xhekaj is at the beginning of that journey, and he’s navigating it so well.
When general manager Kent Hughes traded Romanov to the Islanders for one of the picks he flipped to get Dach out of Chicago, he rattled off the list of young, promising defencemen the Canadiens had coming up the ranks to justify the move and he surprised a lot of people by including Xhekaj’s name.
But no one is surprised anymore. And a game like the one Xhekaj had on Saturday is a big part of that.
Fellow defenceman Mike Matheson might have played his best one as a Canadien and capped it with the game winner. His partner, Justin Barron, scored a beautiful goal. Jordan Harris and Johnathan Kovacevic had great offensive-zone presence throughout the afternoon. And David Savard blocked four shots, including two on a crucial penalty kill in overtime.
But Xhekaj helped him shut down New York’s top line at even strength and put in the type of versatile performance that will continue to make him a fan favourite for years to come.
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