The Worst-Case Scenario Is Starting to Take Shape for Arber Xhekaj in Montreal
That's exactly what I was telling you yesterday, and the worst-case scenario is starting to take shape for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj.
When Martin St-Louis announced, before last night's game, that Xhekaj would be a healthy scratch and sent to the press box.. I mentioned this:
"The next question is this.. What will happen to Xhekaj if Struble has a strong game?
It's always risky to lose your spot in the lineup, because you never know when you'll get it back.. It could take a while!"
- HF
It's always risky to lose your spot in the lineup, because you never know when you'll get it back.. It could take a while!"
- HF
Well, that's exactly what happened, unfortunately for Xhekaj and for all of us-including myself-who were already eager to see the Sheriff back in action.
The Worst-Case Scenario Is Confirmed for Arber Xhekaj
Struble impressed Martin St-Louis so much last night that he was outright promoted to the team's top four on defense and paired with Lane Hutson..
"Jayden Struble goes from healthy scratch to Lane Hutson's defense partner since the end of the first period.
Good promotion."
- Anthony Martineau
Good promotion."
- Anthony Martineau
In other words: unfortunately, we shouldn't expect to see Arber Xhekaj back in uniform anytime soon.
It will likely take a bad game or a rough stretch from Struble, and that explains exactly why it's always risky to give up your spot to another player.
Unless Kaiden Guhle is injured?
In any case, we'll keep you informed, but everything unfortunately indicates that Arber Xhekaj has already lost his spot in Martin St-Louis' top six on defense and is back to being the team's seventh defenseman.
Struble played nearly 14 minutes last night, which is far more than the 10 and 6 minutes Xhekaj played in his previous two games.
That says a lot about which player Martin St-Louis currently has the most confidence in.
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