MONTREAL \u2014 The first rule of potentially surviving prison is to pick the biggest, baddest man in the yard and immediately challenge him to a fight.<\/p>\n
If you survive that \u2014 and that\u2019s a big if \u2014 no one else will mess with you.<\/p>\n
Seems to be the logic that Florian Xhekaj<\/a> applied in deciding to drop his gloves with Philadelphia Flyers winger Nicolas Deslauriers in his first pre-season game with the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably wouldn\u2019t have fought that guy,\u201d said his brother Arber.<\/p>\n Let the record show that Arber did fight that guy back in 2022, when he was 21 years old \u2014 the same age Florian is right now.<\/p>\n The intentions were also the same.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to get it over with,\u201d Arber said, \u201cand it also gives him confidence to know that he can hang in there.\u201d<\/p>\n Florian more than hung in there.<\/p>\n Arber, on the other hand, watched from the bench, fighting off a wave of anxiety as Deslauriers freed up his right hand.<\/p>\n \u201cI was scared for a moment,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to realize that he\u2019s all grown up now. He\u2019s my size, he\u2019s not a little boy anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Florian Xhekaj, who\u2019s now six-foot-four, 220 pounds, proved it by scoring a goal and surviving a fight with one of the most feared enforcers of the last decade.<\/p>\n He was also the first Xhekaj to make his mother, Simona, cry in the stands.<\/p>\n Cameras caught her shedding another tear when Arber scored the empty-net goal that sealed this 4-2 win over the Flyers.<\/p>\n One can only imagine how Simona felt after driving six hours from Hamilton to watch her two boys play their first-ever game together as members of the Canadiens.<\/p>\n The brothers both said the same thing about how their father, Jack, must\u2019ve felt missing it after he was unable to get off work to be there in person.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be pissed all week,\u201d said Arber.<\/p>\n He added that Jack would likely be up all night after all that excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen often,\u201d said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis. \u201cI think just being a parent, having three boys, it\u2019s a cool experience when I watch my two boys play each other in college. I can just imagine what it\u2019s like for the two boys to play together in the NHL, in Montreal, and being far but close enough to be there. It\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s a special moment. And I\u2019m glad that they were able to share it together, but also share it with their family. And I think it\u2019s a tight family, so it\u2019s nice to see them have that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a fun one for everyone, including us.<\/p>\n It also wrapped up 24 hours of observations we made through the first two pre-season games the Canadiens played, so let\u2019s get to those.<\/p>\n The play was coming towards him at full speed \u2014 a two-on-one turned two-on-none by an ill-timed dive from\u00a0Canadiens teammate Jake Evans \u2014 but he remained locked into the puck carrier until the very end. Fowler didn\u2019t cheat, instead, he just waited to make his push.<\/p>\n That patience is the mark of a composed goaltender, one who knows relying solely on anticipation is a fool\u2019s game against the best and most deceptive players in the world. And that patience is a rare quality for a 20-year-old playing his first minutes of NHL pre-season action to possess.<\/p>\n He\u2019s so composed,\u201d said Brendan Gallagher after watching Fowler enter Monday\u2019s game cold off the bench to make 13 saves \u2014 including that 10-beller off Avery Hayes\u2014 and three more in the shootout to help the Canadiens secure a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of those goalies that gives you a lot of confidence, because there\u2019s not a lot of movement. He\u2019s always in position, not a lot of loose pucks in front of his feet,\u201d Gallagher continued. \u201cThose are the guys you like to play in front of. Makes it look easy. Obviously, it\u2019s a tough job that he\u2019s got. But he makes it look easy and gives you a lot of confidence to play in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Fowler has been doing since well before getting drafted by the Canadiens with the 69th\u00a0pick in 2023. The Floridian was a United States Hockey League MVP, Clark Cup champion and World Junior-A Challenge gold medalist.<\/p>\n And then he won a world junior championship and played two sensational seasons with Boston College before being named the NCAA\u2019s best goaltender.<\/p>\n Fowler made his professional debut with the Laval Rocket at the end of last season, posting a .914 save percentage and winning two of three games he appeared in before going 3-3 in the playoffs. And he looked anything but uncomfortable in his NHL debut on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I like about him is he\u2019s calm but not meek,\u201d responded Marc Denis, when we asked the former-NHL-goaltender-turned-RDS-analyst what stands out to him about the kid.\u00a0 \u201cSome guys can turn into victims with traffic and action in front of them, but he doesn\u2019t shrink in those moments. He faces them.\u201d<\/p>\n Fowler explained why after the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, for me, it\u2019s easy to stay calm because I just love to play hockey,\u201d he started. \u201cI love to go out on the ice, whether it\u2019s in front of 20,000 people or by myself. I think hockey\u2019s just what makes me calm. A lot of people get wrapped up into different things, but I\u2019m one to let the game come to me and just be a hockey player.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Fowler did on that overtime rush.<\/p>\n Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but this kid understands what will eventually make his dream come true.<\/p>\n After punching up Samuel Poulin in Monday\u2019s game, Davidson explained how his development into an edgy, tough customer began as a youngster with the Western Hockey League\u2019s Seattle Thunderbirds.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to give credit to my junior coach, Matt O\u2019Dette,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cI was 16 when he taught me how to play in that fourth-line role. Growing up, I never had to do anything like that. Almost didn\u2019t make the team as a 16-year-old, but I did what I had to do just to get in the lineup. You have to get noticed every night, and there\u2019s no easy way to do it. Hopefully, goals and points come, but that\u2019s something easy you can do to get noticed every night \u2014 stick on puck, go hit someone on the forecheck, make it easier on your linemates to play \u2014 and that\u2019s what has made me who I am today and how I play. I give a lot of credit to him for just teaching me how to play in those gritty roles.\u201d<\/p>\n The Edmonton native can play, too.<\/p>\n Josh Anderson was saying after the game that Gallagher, who\u2019s also from Edmonton, told him he loves Davidson\u2019s game. He said Gallagher told him to watch out for him.<\/p>\n Anderson did and was blown away by what Davidson did with his fists.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a great fight. There was no hesitation,\u201d he said. \u201cI think he\u2019s a gamer. Ever since I\u2019ve seen him play, I feel he\u2019s a gamer. He\u2019ll do whatever the game needs him to do. I think he\u2019s hungry, he wants to play at this level, he\u2019ll do whatever, and he actually has the scoring touch too. We\u2019ve seen it in years past, obviously, in Laval.\u201d<\/p>\n Davidson piled up 35 goals and 61 points in 107 games with the Rocket over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n And he played with the type of bite the Canadiens could use more of.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel as a team, I love our skill level and everything. And I think the way we play together, I love that too. But we need to add some sandpaper to our game a little bit, and it\u2019s not necessarily just (fighting),\u201d said St. Louis. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily just one guy, or two guys, it\u2019s collectively, as a pack. Can we be a little tougher to play against? Not just strategically, but physically?\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019d bet on Davidson being a player who helps them do that down the line.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old is tracking in that direction.<\/p>\n \u2014 David Reinbacher didn\u2019t get an assist on Florian Xhekaj\u2019s goal to make it 2-0 against the Flyers, but he started the whole play by rushing the puck out of harm\u2019s way and out of Montreal\u2019s zone.<\/p>\n The type of subtle, effective play Reinbacher\u2019s game is made of.<\/p>\n The fifth overall pick in 2023 was burned by speedster Anthony Richard for a goal.<\/p>\n But another controlled breakout from Reinbacher helped Nick Suzuki make the score 3-1 against Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Between him, Xhekaj, Davidson, Fowler, Owen Beck, Oliver Kapanen, Adam Engstrom and Joshua Roy, the Canadiens have a lot of players knocking on the NHL door.<\/p>\n At least one of them will break through to start the season. The rest will fight for chances to be called up while likely fueling Laval to another successful season.<\/p>\n \u2014 Montreal\u2019s top line of Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky took 53 seconds to connect for a goal in pre-season. This will be their fourth season playing together, and it shows.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s game was child\u2019s play for them, as they combined for two goals and a 17-1 edge in shot attempts against the Flyers.<\/p>\n \u2014 Lane Hutson attempted 3.6 shots per game in his Calder Trophy-winning season. He had four through the first 40 minutes and eight by the end of Tuesday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t get a chance to speak with him, but it’s probably not a stretch to assume he\u2019ll be trying to shoot more this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONTREAL \u2014 The first rule of potentially surviving prison is to pick the biggest, baddest man in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-165516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}