Habs rookie Arber Xhekaj reveals what Zack Kassian told him before and after he rag dolled him

No one wants to mess with Montreal Canadiens rookie defenseman Arber Xhekaj. He made that pretty clear.

On Thursday night, Arizona Coyotes veteran Zack Kassian went out looking to motivate his team as they quickly fell behind 3-0 in the game. He appeared to have a quick chat with Xhekaj and then the two hooked up in a fight.

Kassian quickly regretted as he couldn’t escape Xhekaj’s quick right hooks and body shots. The fight ended as the young blue liner rag dolled the forward at centre-ice in front of a loud and impressed Bell Centre crowd.

Kassian left the ice seemingly nursing a finger injury, while Xhekaj served his major and then received an ovation during the commercial break as he skated back to the Canadiens’ bench.

The kid was quickly trending and after the Habs’ win, he was asked what took place before the fight and what prompted it to take place. Eric Engels shared Xhekaj’s answer who explain why he dropped the gloves with Kassian.

“I was smiling at him on the face-off. He asked me what I was laughing about. I said, ‘You.’ He gave me a shot. I asked him if he wanted one. He said, ‘Sure.’”

Xhekaj was then asked if Kassian had anything to say after he lost the fight and was rag dolled on the ice. The rookie was told:

“Good fight.’”

GREAT fight, you mean Zack!