Arber Xhekaj in hot water after punching official during scrum with Mark Kastelic
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj is facing a possible suspension today after he punched a linesman in the head.
The Bruins and Canadiens were facing off tonight when chaos erupted in the second period.
Boston had gone up 4-1 and tensions were starting to rise as the Canadiens seemed to be embarrassed by their own performance.
About halfway through the second period, Lane Hutson collided with Mark Kastelic and that seemed to be the catalyst that popped the bubble.
A scrum ensued with Arber Xhekaj going toe to toe with Kastelic but he got a little bit carried away.
As the two men tried to get into a proper fight, a linesman stepped in to break it up.
Unfortunately for the official though, Xhekaj was determined to get a punch in, and he accidentally got the ref right in the face.
Abuse of officials is a serious violation in the NHL, and one that the league enforces strictly.
Both Kastelic and Xhekaj got game misconduct penalties for their roles in the scrum, but it will be Xhekaj who will likely get a call from the Department of Player Safety tomorrow.
In the past, we have seen players get as many as ten games for hitting on-ice officials.
The one thing Xhekaj has going for in his favor is that he appears to clearly have been an accident.
He was, after all, trying to punch Kastelic, not the official. Still though, you have to be in control of your body in the NHL.
As a result, we might see him get suspended for a few games, but Most would probably be surprised if it was more than three or four.
Either way, be sure to tune in tomorrow as we get official word from the DoPS.
