The match between the Montreal Canadiens and the Vegas Golden Knights is full of action.
There were plenty of goals and penalties, but in the second period, the CH lost a big one.
Defenseman Arber Xhekaj left the game after being violently checked by Ivan Barbashev.
Watch the sequence right here.
Barbashev with a big hit on Xhekaj, who had been on the ice for about 2 minutes. pic.twitter.com/WWWi2WtQ2j
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 17, 2023
Last year, Xhekaj saw his season come to an early end after suffering a serious injury to his right shoulder following a fight with Vincent Desharnais.
He required surgery, but this time, the pain came from the colossus’ left shoulder.
#Habs Arber Xhekaj was favouring his left shoulder after this big hit and went to the locker room. It was his right shoulder he had season-ending surgery on last season. #HabsIO https://t.co/ZvjLaWzb1B
– Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) November 17, 2023
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From the footage, it looks like the shoulder is dislocated.
Let’s hope Xhekaj doesn’t need another operation, it could be very unfortunate for the young defenseman as well as the club.
This is the first time Xhekaj has left a match after a solid body check.
The defenseman was at the end of a very long appearance, with almost two minutes of ice time in a row.
On a positive note, the left side of the CH’s defensive brigade is pretty well stocked.
The Tricolore has a number of options, and David Savard should be back soon.
Jordan Harris is currently injured, but he shouldn’t be sidelined for much longer.
Logan Mailloux could also be recalled, as could Mattias Norlinder and even William Trudeau.
It remains to be seen how serious Xhekaj’s injury will be.
Extension
– Logan Mailloux could also be recalled, as could Mattias Norlinder or even William Trudeau. It remains to be seen how serious Xhekaj’s injury is.