The final verdict is in for Arber Xhekaj and the D-core and it's another turn of events

There have been a few twists and turns in the last few hours concerning the Montreal Canadiens' defensive brigade.

Let's make a clear summary.

- On Saturday, following Mike Matheson's return to action, Martin St-Louis mentioned that there would be a rotation of three defensemen, to alternate the presence in the stands (Jordan Harris was removed from the lineup)

- Yesterday, Arber Xhekaj was on a pair with Chris Wideman (who is not supposed to be in the rotation). So he was "an extra".


- This morning, to everyone's surprise, Martin St-Louis changed his duos. It's very rare that we normally see that, but well, he shuffled his cards between yesterday and today.

- Arber Xhekaj was paired with Johnatan Kovacevic, and Jordan Harris was paired with Chris Wideman (like before Saturday's game).

- Everyone assumed that Wideman and Harris would be left out, as St. Louis was talking about a three-man rotation.

- Finally, we just learned that, even though Xhekaj has been moved with Kovacevic, surprisingly it is this duo that will be in the stands.

Verdict:


A surprising, but interesting decision. So Wideman is (finally) in the rotation as well, and will take away minutes from young Xhekaj and Kovacevic.


There's no doubt about the verdict anymore, Martin St-Louis just confirmed it in a press briefing:



More details to follow!