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"Wouldn't care if it's clean or not": Kevin Bieksa makes his thoughts on Arber Xhekaj's avenging hit on Noel Acciari extremely clear
There was an on-ice melee during Saturday night's tilt between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh as time expired off the clock.
Canadians forward Juraj Slafkovsky, the first overall selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, departed the game after taking a hard elbow to the head from Penguins forward Noel Acciari while taking the puck into his offensive zone.
Bruising defenseman Arber Xhekaj came to his teammate's defense and retaliated against Acciari with a hit to his knee, sparking a scrum that also resulted in a tilt between Jayden Struble and Ryan Graves, with the latter getting the best of the former.
Former NHL defenseman turned analyst Kevin Bieksa stood up for Xhekaj, stating that he felt his actions were justified after his teammate was targeted while speaking on Sportsnet's postgame show with hosts Luke Gazdic and Jennifer Botteril.
"I wouldn't care if it's clean or not - you get my guy; I'm getting you back at some point," Bieksa said.
There's a strict code amongst hockey players that when one player is guilty of a dirty hit on another, they can expect full retribution at some point in the same game or sometime down the line; a veteran of 808 games himself, Bieksa is well aware of that.
The Penguins emerged victorious in the game thanks to a pair of goals from captain and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby, helping Pittsburgh to a 3-1 victory and improving to 5-7-1 on the season. The Habs' struggles continued, as they are now 4-7-1.
The Penguins move on to take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday, while the Canadiens are also in action on Tuesday, hosting the Calgary Flames at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Arber Xhekaj has drawn controversy this season for his hard hits
Xhekaj has found himself at the center of controversy for his questionable hit to the head of Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle during the exhibition schedule.
He's in his third season, having played his entire short NHL career thus far with the Canadiens. In 104 career games, he's scored eight goals with 15 assists; he's yet to register a point in nine games in the 2024-25 season.
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