Ryan Reaves and Arber Xhekaj square off in heavily anticipated fight

Adding the feared enforcer Ryan Reaves this offseason, fans began to anticipate a heavyweight matchup against their rival Canadiens' tough guy, Arber Xhekaj. Just ten minutes into their first matchup together, fans got their wish and the two fighters dropped the gloves.

While forechecking, Reaves sparked the crowd with a big hit to a Habs' defender, after which Xhekaj skated to the defence of his downed teammate. With Reaves not fully square and ready, Xhekaj began wrestling and wailing down on him.


After Reaves was able to get on his feet, the fight unfortunately never got further than a wrestling match. Neither fighter was able to land a significant punch, and before long, Xhekaj skated Reaves into the net. After the pair fell to the ice, the officials broke up the tilt.


Tonight, the Reaves and Xhekaj billing didn't live up to expectations of the fans. There still could be hope for a rematch tonight, but that was made less likely after Xhekaj was assessed a ten-minute misconduct for the instigation of the fight.


Soon, and potentially later in tonight's game, these heavyweights will square off in a rematch for a proper fight.