Florian Xhekaj set to make his Canadiens debut vs. Maple Leafs
Florian Xhekaj will make his NHL debut and Jake Evans will also be in the lineup when the Canadiens play the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports) with Jakub Dobes starting in goal.
The Canadiens called Xhekaj up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Friday night after he posted 2-2-4 totals in 16 games, along with 44 penalty minutes. He will be in the lineup with his older brother, Arber, and both their parents will be at the Bell Centre, along with their two sisters, after making the trip from their home in Hamilton.
Xhekaj will play left wing on the third line with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. Joshua Roy will be a healthy scratch after being held without a point in the last two games following his call-up from Laval.
Dobes has a 6-2-2 record with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. He has lost his last four games (0-2-2) while posting a .820 save percentage. He allowed four goals on 25 shots after replacing Samuel Montembeault in the second period of Thursday night’s 8-4 loss to the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre.
Evans’s status was uncertain after he took a big hit from Washington’s Tom Wilson during the second period of Thursday game. Evans missed the third period and didn’t practise with his teammates Friday, but he was on the ice for Saturday’s morning skate at the Bell Centre after it was determined he didn’t suffer a concussion.
“I’m just happy, feeling good,” Evans said. “It was precautionary — any time it’s with your head you just want to make sure it’s nothing more severe and don’t want to put anything at risk. I feel great. The doctors and the medical staff here have helped me out a lot and made sure I feel good and I’m ready to go.
“At first, you think the worst and the result of the hit, and I thought it might end up being worse,” Evans added when asked about throwing his helmet as he left the ice after the hit from Wilson. “I’m happy it didn’t. It also doesn’t help when they score a goal at that point, too. So I think it was just a buildup of a lot of things.”
When asked for his thoughts on the hit from Wilson, Evans said: “Pretty high. My mouth was bleeding afterwards, so I think that’s pretty self explanatory.”
Xhekaj was taking a pre-game nap Friday ahead of the Rocket’s game against the Belleville Senators when the call came he was going to join the Canadiens and not play that night at Place Bell in Laval.
“I had a few calls, but I was tired, I was trying to sleep,” Xhekaj told reporters at the Bell Centre after Saturday’s morning skate. “So I was just ignoring them. And then I looked and it was my coach (Pascal Vincent) and he said: ‘You’re going up and you’re going to play your first game against the Leafs at the Bell Centre.’ So it was a pretty cool moment.”
The Rocket won Friday night’s game 4-3 in overtime without Xhekaj in the lineup.
“I was pretty speechless,” Xhekaj said about the call from Vincent. “I was really excited. I needed to call my parents and let them know and did that right after. I wasn’t playing yesterday, so I didn’t nap after that and it was tough to sleep last night, but I’m excited.
“It’s a special night and I’m just going to try and enjoy it.”
