Havoc ensues on Montreal Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj after Kirby Dach sees stars following hit
During the Montreal Canadiens-Philadelphia Flyers game, Flyers captain Sean Couturier was defended by his defenseman Nick Seeler after he clipped Kirby Dach and was challenged by Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj.
The incident took place at 13 minutes left in the first period when Couturier was skating out of his own and clipped an inattentive Kirby Dach at center ice. This caught the attention of Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj who had words and continued to challenge Couturier to fight him.
Couturier did the noble thing to drop his gloves but many including the announcers were saying this could not happen as it appeared to be a severe mismatch and one that's unnecessary.
Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler who is well known throughout the league as one who is willing to drop his gloves and defend his teammates quickly skated over and went after Xhekaj and defended his captain.
It remains to be seen on whether Couturier will face a fine as the play through centre ice appeared to be suspect and he did not receive a penalty for the hit. The only penalty that emerged from that scrum was Xhekaj who received 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. This led to many on both benches shouting at one another as both protested the hit, the potential fight and lack of penalty to Seeler.
Both teams have been working through their rebuild phases as both the Canadiens and the Flyers remain in the cellar of the NHL standings in the Eastern Conference. Both teams will meet each other again on March 27th and then again on April 5th which could lead to retribution for this hit as many NHL players have long memories.
Only time will tell on whether they will act on it or let this slide.
| POLL | ||
Should Nick Seeler have been kicked out out of the game after coming to his captain's defense against Arber Xhekaj? | ||
| Yes | 28 | 46.7 % |
| No | 32 | 53.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
