Canadiens Announce Lineup vs. Kraken as Martin St-Louis Confirms His Decision on Arber Xhekaj
The Montreal Canadiens have finally resolved the mystery surrounding Arber Xhekaj ahead of tonight's game against the Seattle Kraken.
For those planning to stay up late tonight, it should be an excellent matchup, as both the Kraken and the Canadiens are off to solid starts this season.
However, over the past few days, Arber Xhekaj's situation has been the main topic of discussion around the Montreal Canadiens.
The 24-year-old defenseman, known for his very physical style of play, was limited to only six minutes of ice time against the Vancouver Canucks.
For many fans, that seemed to signal a possible healthy scratch for the young defenseman by Martin St-Louis.
But now, the official answer has finally come in - and it might surprise quite a few people.
Martin St-Louis Confirms His Decision on Arber Xhekaj and Explains His Ice-Time Management
During his press conference in Seattle, the Canadiens' head coach responded without hesitation when asked if he planned to make any changes to his lineup.
"Any lineup changes?"
"No!" simply stated Martin St-Louis, putting an end to all rumors.
"No!" simply stated Martin St-Louis, putting an end to all rumors.
That means Xhekaj will be back in the lineup against the Seattle Kraken tonight - a decision that truly shows the coach's continued confidence in him despite the recent wave of criticism.
St-Louis then added that he wants to see his young defenseman find his rhythm and consistency again.
"Everything that happens on the ice influences our decisions. It can be the score, it can be anything. To Xhekaj's defense, there are some really good defensemen in front of him right now... do we want to give him more [TOI]? Yes we do, I think he deserves more and we're going to try to do that..."
"At the same time, Xhekaj's gotta keep trying to stack shifts after shifts but we want to give him more."
- Martin St-Louis, via Priyanta Emrith
"At the same time, Xhekaj's gotta keep trying to stack shifts after shifts but we want to give him more."
- Martin St-Louis, via Priyanta Emrith
For his part, Anthony Martineau recently highlighted an interesting point on the Sick Podcast:
"Only 3 hits in his last 6 games for Arber Xhekaj.
No matter whose fault it is, it can't continue like this.
What sets the 72 apart in this league is his toughness. That's how he makes an impact."
- Anthony Martineau
No matter whose fault it is, it can't continue like this.
What sets the 72 apart in this league is his toughness. That's how he makes an impact."
- Anthony Martineau
I truly believe that this is the style of play the organization wants to see again, and it's clearly the aspect Martin St-Louis is focusing on to help him progress.
In my opinion, St-Louis is handling this situation in a very mature way. I think Xhekaj needs to feel his coach's confidence to become the intimidating defenseman we all know he can be again.
The Canadiens close out their four-game road trip tonight at 10:30pm. Jakub Dobes will start in net yet again!
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