Photo credit: Screenshot
Against the Carolina Hurricanes, Martin St-Louis made an unusual decision by deploying Arber Xhekaj as a fourth-line forward due to injuries.
The scenario many fans had hoped for finally came to life for Xhekaj and the Montreal Canadiens tonight.
During the matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, Xhekaj did indeed play on the team’s fourth line.
Priyanta Emrith quickly shared the physical defenseman’s reaction to this highly unusual situation.
In an interview with Marc Denis on RDS, Arber Xhekaj spoke very openly.
The player admitted right away that it felt a bit strange to suddenly find himself playing forward.
Arber Xhekaj embraces forward role with physical forecheck and added offensive freedom
Despite the unusual transition, the towering player managed to take a lot of positives from his night.
He mentioned on RDS that it felt good to loosen up his legs a bit.
Playing forward especially allowed him to forecheck aggressively and deliver solid hits on opposing defensemen.
He backed that up with five hits in just five minutes of ice time against Carolina.
“Hopefully I can get on the forecheck, hit some guys and create some space for the other guys and park my big butt out front and maybe we can generate something.”
– Arber Xhekaj
Playing that position gives him a certain freedom to hit without having to worry about his responsibilities as a defenseman.
This bold decision by head coach St-Louis proves he is not afraid to innovate to compensate for the current lack of healthy forwards.
Now it remains to be seen whether this temporary position change will continue in the next game—or even for the rest of the season.
If Josh Anderson or Alexandre Texier are not able to return to the lineup soon, the experiment could be repeated.
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics
POLL
1 HOUR AGO|192 ANSWERS
Arber Xhekaj had plenty to say about his unusual new role with the Canadiens
Would you like to see Arber Xhekaj play as a fourth-line forward again in the future?