Arber Xhekaj #72 of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
A lot is being made about what happened Sunday evening between Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj and Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier and defenseman Nick Seeler. After a scrum ensued between Xhekaj and Couturier, Seeler jumped in as the third man and began throwing punches as well. However, Xhekaj was the only player for whom the referees assessed a penalty. Unfairly or not, that was the outcome of the play.
That left many people wondering why Xhekaj was the only one being penalized. Was this based on reputation, or did Xhekaj actually commit an infraction? Former NHL referee and current ESPN Dave Jackson told RG he does not think the penalty assessed to Arber Xhekaj was based on reputation.
"I would sure hope not," Jackson said. "I mean, you know a player's reputation if you have been in the league for a long time. The last thing you want to do, though, is treat that player unfairly."
It was a delicate situation involving Xhekaj, Couturier, and Seeler because, as social media does, the situation gets overblown. Many people thought Seeler got a “Third Man In” penalty because Xhekaj and Couturier took their gloves off to fight. Just because the players took their gloves does not mean a penalty should be called. There is no penalty for dropping your gloves.
However, the referees determined it to be a scrum, not a fight, so nothing was called. For a “Third Man In” penalty to be assessed, it must be associated with a fight, where five-minute majors are assessed. Thus, in the case of Xhekaj, he was the only player to get a penalty. Jackson believes the referees assessed a penalty to Xhekaj because he stopped the play looking for a fight after a clean hit preceded everything.
In his short career in Montreal, Arber Xhekaj has been a physical force on the Canadiens defense. He has had his fair share of altercations and fights in his short career. However, what happened Sunday night
"From what I have heard, I still know guys in the League. Xhekaj is a stand-up guy, a class act. He stands up for his teammates," Jackson said. "He seems to be a really good guy. I mean, I don't think anybody would have it out for him. It just wouldn't make sense. He's a good standup guy and a clean hockey player. He's not dirty whatsoever."
Jim Biringer
