Canadiens’ Xhekaj Makes Presence Felt Against Sabres – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

The last time Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj found himself on the power play, chances are it was an accident. This time, to end their 5-1 win in Game 2 against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night in Buffalo, it wasn’t.

Xhekaj found himself on the ice to end the game, after Sabres forward Zach Benson had taken a two-minute penalty for cross-checking defenseman Mike Matheson, who had coincidentally scored the game-winning goal early in the contest. That’s key, in that the Canadiens had taken an early lead and never looked back. As a result, the game was at risk of getting out of hand in its final stages.

Xhekaj Finds His Niche on Habs

In all seriousness, there was a time when Xhekaj was a regular on the power play. He peaked at 1:01 per game in his sophomore season, in 2023-24, which is the season when Lane Hutson debuted with two games remaining. In 2024-25, Xhekaj was down to 0:03, for obvious reasons. We all have our skillsets after all, and, with Hutson quarterbacking the power play in his Calder Memorial Trophy-winning rookie season, the Habs obviously jumped all the way from fifth from last in the entire league to an unexpected playoff spot.

About that… facing the top-seeded Washington Capitals in Round 1 last spring, head coach Martin St. Louis only played Xhekaj starting in Game 3, which is the only game the Canadiens won, as the temperature began to rise significantly between the two teams. Prior to Capitals forward Tom Wilson’s hit on Alexandre Carrier in Game 4 in that series, which indirectly led to a critical third-period game-tying goal and an eventual 3-1 series lead for the Caps, Xhekaj’s debut had widely been seen as the series’ turning point, all of which points to physicality being a key ingredient to postseason success. Obviously.

Granted, Xhekaj must walk a fine line between physical and undisciplined. In Game 2 against the Sabres, he took a needless slashing penalty on counterpart Jordan Greenway, with the score 3-0, but not quite out of reach, early in the second. Penalties like that had made him a healthy scratch down the stretch last season, when he only played in one of the team’s final 10 regular-season games, as desperation to reach the postseason had set in and it became apparent the risk-reward benefit of playing Xhekaj wasn’t worth it to St. Louis.

Dobson Injury Forces St. Louis’ Hand

Officially speaking, Xhekaj played fewer games this season (65 compared to 70 in 2024-25), as the team’s blue-line depth took a massive step forward following the offseason acquisition of Noah Dobson. It’s a shame in that, committing to regularly playing Xhekaj this past season should have been seen as a priority so as to avoid trepidation on the part of St. Louis to start him in the playoffs. However, following Dobson’s late-season injury, which ultimately kept him out of the six first games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1, the decision was made for him. St. Louis obviously had to make his peace with the fact he was going to have to rely on Xhekaj (and Jayden Struble, another press box regular).

They both generally rose to the challenge, with Struble staying in the lineup in Game 7 instead of Xhekaj with the return of Dobson. There’s probably something to St. Louis taking Struble out and going back to Xhekaj after the Game 7 win and then staying with Xhekaj after a disappointing team showing against the Sabres in Game 1. Things are probably staying as they are now. Look for St. Louis to stick with his defense as is for Game 3, following the decisive Game 2 victory, in which the Canadiens dictated the tempo of play.

While Xhekaj wasn’t necessarily a contributor in that sense, again, everyone has their skillsets. As things were getting chippy, St. Louis came to rely on Xhekaj to act as a deterrent and drop the temperature, ironically almost the polar-opposite reaction as his playoff debut had last season against the Capitals.

Canadiens Are Young But More Experienced in 2025-26

So, why, what makes things different this time around now that the Canadiens are back in the series against the Sabres? When it didn’t against the Capitals, after having gotten back into it with a Game 3 win? For starters, the Habs are a much better team this time around. There’s a definite case to be made that the Capitals weren’t as strong as their top seed in 2024-25 might have indicated and they were vulnerable to being upset in Round 1. And, for a short period of time, it looked like the Canadiens were in position to come back in the series, but a year of additional experience for the youngest team in the league (along with the experience of having just lost in Round 1) looks to have pushed them up a tier or two in the NHL.

Whereas the Sabres are no slouches either, having won the Atlantic Division as a similarly young team compared to the Canadiens, the Habs are simply closer to contending than they were last year. Are they there yet?

The youngest NHL rosters by average age entering the 2025-26 season:

1. Montreal (25.8)
2. Buffalo (26.48)
3. Chicago (26.49)
4. Philadelphia (27.1)
5. Columbus (27.57)

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 7, 2025

A series victory here, which would officially take them to the final four, certainly would present a strong case to that effect. And, you have to believe, if they do move on, Xhekaj will have played a huge part, regardless of whether or not he hits the scoresheet. It’s inherently unlikely, but then again that’s not necessarily what he’s paid to hit. Hopefully he won’t have to resort to (excessive) physicality, but it’s good to know the Canadiens are capable should they be forced into an overly physical series. More importantly, the Sabres know too.