In a highly anticipated Saturday night clash at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens snapped a five-game winless streak with a decisive 5-2 victory over their historic rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game was notably marked by the electrifying NHL debut of 21-year-old forward Florian Xhekaj, who made an immediate impact on the ice.
A Memorable First Game
Florian Xhekaj didn't waste any time introducing himself to the NHL. In his very first shift during the second minute of play, he delivered a solid hit on Toronto's Troy Stecher, setting the physical tone for his evening. The rookie played a modest 9 minutes and 48 seconds but packed that time with significant contributions across the stat sheet.
Xhekaj recorded his first NHL point with an assist, finished the game with a plus-1 rating, registered two shots on goal, blocked one shot, and delivered three hits. His performance provided exactly the energy boost the Canadiens needed to break their 0-4-1 slump.
The Fight That Fired Up the Bench
More than 14 minutes into the third period, Xhekaj dropped the gloves with Toronto defenceman Dakota Mermis in a one-sided bout that left Mermis looking like a human piñata. The moment became an instant highlight when every single Canadiens player skated to the penalty box to fist-bump their celebrating rookie.
That was awesome, Xhekaj said after the game. It was an unbelievable first game. I don't think I could ask for a better first one. They were pretty fired up. I was fired up. It's good to see that they liked it. It kind of fired up our bench; fired up our crowd. I had so much adrenaline.
His older brother, Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj, praised the performance: I thought he did exactly what he needed to do. He was chipping pucks in, hammering guys and brought some energy.
Canadiens Dominate Struggling Leafs
The victory came surprisingly easy against a Toronto team that continues to struggle this season. The Maple Leafs fell below .500 with a 9-10-3 record and now face concerning road woes with a 1-6-0 away record as they embark on a five-game road trip.
Toronto's troubles were compounded by significant injuries to key players including captain Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, defencemen Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, and starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz. However, the Canadiens were also missing important pieces in Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Kaiden Guhle.
Josh Anderson led the offensive charge for Montreal with two goals, including an empty-netter, and five hits. Captain Nick Suzuki delivered a beautiful cross-ice pass to Lane Hutson for the game's opening goal, with Brendan Gallagher creating havoc in the crease to screen Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll.
The Canadiens' victory marked the 265th Saturday night meeting between these Original Six franchises, with Toronto still leading the all-time series 134-96-35.
The teams combined for 70 penalty minutes, evenly divided, and the physical affair sets the stage for their next meeting on December 6th in Toronto, which promises to be another intense chapter in this historic rivalry.
