Arber Xhekaj lands heavy blows on Avs’ Keaton Middleton – Source: Getty
As they were being separated by referees, Xhekaj charged in and dropped the gloves with Middleton.
What ensued was an intense fight with both players landing heavy punches. Arber Xhekaj was able to connect with several powerful rights that sent Middleton down to the ice before the refs intervened to break it up. Both received fighting majors for their involvement in the brawl.
Watch the video here:
In the intermission interview, Avs center Jack Dury praised his teammate Middleton’s toughness, saying:
“I think Middleton is as tough as a guy I’ve ever seen and he steps up against heavy weight and does a great, so it’s energizing, and we got to use that in the third”
At the end of the third period, the game was tied 4-4.
Juraj Slafkovsky (two goals), Brendan Gallagher and Joshua Roy scored for the Canadiens. For the Avalanche, Brock Nelson, Ryan Lindgren, Sam Malinski and Martin Neccas scored.