Canadiens-Senators combine for 150 penalty minutes in pre-season game

The two Atlantic Division rivals combined for 150 penalty minutes in a fight-filled 5-0 victory for the Canadiens.

At the centre of the melee were the Xhekaj brothers, Arber and Florian, who both fought twice in the game. Florian fought Jan Jenik in the first period, and Arber and Jenik traded blows in the second. Then, in the third, both brothers fought on the same shift when Arber took on Zack MacEwen and Florian battled with Carter Yakemchuk near the Canadiens’ bench.

The two Xhekaj brothers combined for 31 penalty minutes on their own, and both were removed from the game, along with MacEwen, after those third-period fights.

Also in the third period, Senators forward Nick Cousins was penalized for slashing prized Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov and was later given a misconduct. Demidov left the game and did not return.

Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Alexandre Carrier, Lane Hutson and Kirby Dach scored for the Canadiens, with three of the goals coming on the power play.

These two teams won’t have much time to simmer down before they see each other again, as the Canadiens host the Senators at the Bell Centre on Saturday to close out the pre-season. The first regular-season meeting between the two rivals won’t come until Nov. 1.

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