
Xhekaj and Bauer traded MASSIVE punches, but the late-game chaos that followed sent the Bell Centre into a frenzy and forced overtime.
The Montreal Canadiens were in action on Tuesday night, and the game itself had plenty to talk about, especially Jacob Fowler’s performance in between the pipes. But another moment also set social media ablaze, as two heavyweights squared off in a throwback tilt that drew everyone's attention and led to absolute chaos at the end of the game.
In the third period, two big boys, Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj and Winnipeg’s rookie Tyrel Bauer, dropped the gloves in what can only be called a heavyweight tilt.
Bauer has impressed with his four fights this season, but Xhekaj landed heavy shots to Bauer’s jaw and came out on top in a long, intense matchup.
Right after the refs split them up, Xhekaj saluted the crowd, and the Bell Centre loved it.
Both players were sent to the penalty box, and it did not take long for Xhekaj to get some company when his younger brother, Habs’ teammate Florian Xhekaj, joined him in the box for roughing. Hard to say what the brothers were saying, but they were certainly having a good time.
Unfortunately for Arber Xhekaj, while he may have won the fight, he seems to have sparked something in Bauer, who scored his first NHL goal after coming out of the penalty box. This sparked a fiery Jets comeback, as they scored four goals in less than three minutes to tie the game at 4 and push it to overtime.
And then things all went south for Montreal. You guessed it. After leading 4-0 for the entire game, the Canadiens lost 5-4 in overtime to the Jets, who pulled off a historic comeback.
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Christine has been a lifelong hockey fan ever since she fell for Mario Lemieux’ slick moves and Jaromir Jagr’s mullet. A professional writer, she joined Attraction Media in 2017. Since then, she has good reasons to watch all hockey games and can humiliate several men who can’t handle that a woman knows more about hockey than they ever will.
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