{"id":549627,"date":"2026-04-10T15:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/549627\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:30:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:30:21","slug":"corey-perry-backs-down-from-arber-xhekaj-then-gets-an-unforgettable-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/549627\/","title":{"rendered":"Corey Perry backs down from Arber Xhekaj, then gets an unforgettable response"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Photo <\/p>\n

Photo credit: Screenshot<\/p>\n

We were treated to a highly entertaining game last night at the Bell Centre between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning.<\/p>\n

A game filled with physical play, where veteran Corey Perry made sure to leave his mark, notably bloodying young Lane Hutson\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

As expected, “the Sheriff” Arber Xhekaj was not going to let the 40-year-old agitator target his teammates without responding.<\/p>\n

True to his role, the Canadiens\u2019 rugged defenseman took matters into his own hands by confronting Perry directly on the ice.<\/p>\n

As first noted by journalist Stu Cowan on X, Corey Perry declined the invitation.<\/p>\n

“Lightning’s Corey Perry wanting nothing to do with Habs Arber Xhekaj after getting challenged in corner. Not a surprise.” noted the Montreal Gazette reporter.<\/p>\n

Perry clearly only wanted to dance with Lane Hutson.<\/p>\n

It is indeed very rare to see players, even the toughest ones, willingly drop the gloves with Canadiens number 72.<\/p>\n

However, the interaction didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n

In an apparent attempt to save face after declining the fight, Perry seemed to resort to words, telling Xhekaj that he would eventually go after him.<\/p>\n

Arber Xhekaj fires back at Corey Perry with confident on-ice response<\/p>\n

That was a misunderstanding of Xhekaj\u2019s outspoken nature if anyone thought he wouldn\u2019t respond!<\/p>\n

Sportsnet journalist Eric Engels revealed on X the sharp (and memorable) reply Xhekaj delivered to his opponent during the game.<\/p>\n

“Xhekaj to Perry, who’s saying he’s coming after him:
‘I’d love to see that. I’d love to see that. I can’t wait, buddy.'” reported Engels.<\/p>\n

This cold response perfectly illustrates the confidence Arber Xhekaj brings to the ice.<\/p>\n

Perry may have over 1,300 NHL games of experience and a reputation for getting under opponents\u2019 skin, but Xhekaj made it clear he would not be intimidated.<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

1 HOUR AGO|233 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Corey Perry backs down from Arber Xhekaj, then gets an unforgettable response<\/p>\n

Did you like Arber Xhekaj\u2019s response to put Corey Perry in his place on the ice?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Screenshot We were treated to a highly entertaining game last night at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[407,869,44224,5,21,4,30516,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-549627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-arber-xhekaj","9":"tag-corey-perry","10":"tag-eric-engels","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-montreal-canadiens","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-stu-cowan","15":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116381131826422715","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}