"Nothing to lose here": Arber Xhekaj's mom rallies Habs nation ahead of Canadiens vs Capitals Round 1 playoff clash

Modified Apr 18, 2025 11:36 GMT

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj’s mother Simona is a regular spectator of the sport. She follows the Habs and often quips on the games across social media platforms.

On Thursday, she shared an infographic of the Habs’ Round 1 playoff schedule on her X account. In the caption, she wrote:

“We are ready hockey nation 🤞👊💯 Nothing to lose here, only surprise everyone , let’s Gooooo 🙏”

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The Canadiens secured the final Eastern Conference wild card spot with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. They are now set to face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

Arber Xhekaj has had a decent showing this year. He made 70 appearances over the course of the season, logging a goal and 5 assists with a plus-minus of -13.

Arber Xhekaj’s mother melts over fan’s gesture in memory of Brendan Gallagher’s late mother Della

Earlier last month, Simona Xhekaj retweeted a documentary featuring a Habs fan who had reached out to Canadiens alternate captain Brendan Gallagher with an offer to return a special jersey Gallagher wore during the NHL’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” initiative back in 2022.

Lucie Lachance, the fan, had won the jersey in a later auction and it had been in her possession ever since. The jersey also had a special tag where Gallagher had written “I’m fighting for Mom,” as a tribute to his mother Della, who was battling with brain cancer at the time.

Della Gallagher recently passed away after a lengthy battle with stage 4 glioblastoma. After the news was made public, Lucie reached out to Gallagher on X and expressed that she believed the jersey rightfully belonged with him.

Simona Xhekaj mentioned how moved she was by the fans’ gesture in her tweet. She wrote:

“This is such an amazing and thoughtful thing. Della was special, a very special lady with heart of gold 💛 and I feel blessed and privileged to have known her for a very short time. Just thinking of that moment in Bell Center brings me chills and tears.❤️❤️❤️❤️”

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Gallagher appreciated the fan’s offer and invited Lucie to the Bell Centre for a jersey swap on April 16. He signed his game-worn jersey on the ice for Lucie after their game against the Hurricanes on Wednesday and also presented her with his stick. They posed for photos and shared a sweet moment together.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the industry. Having an educational background in Media Studies, she strives to present information in a clear and unbiased manner, so that all perspectives are considered and represented fairly.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

She is a self-taught musician, loves silversmithing and can be found at her workbench if she’s not watching or writing about sports.

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