This comes after the Rangers’ defenseman delivered a massive hit on Xhekaj’s teammate Justin Barron last night.

During the 7-2 blowout loss to the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens also lost defenseman Justin Barron, who is now out with an upper-body injury thanks to a massive hit by captain Jacob Trouba. The Habs’ blue liner was levelled by Trouba, who did not get any disciplined for the check despite the Ranger’ reputation.

Barron was missing from the Canadiens’ practice on Wednesday, but defenseman Arber Xhekaj was there and made sure to send a clear warning to the Rangers and their captain. Xhekaj was a healthy scratch for last night’s contest and there is no doubt that if he had been on the ice, he would not have backed down from sticking up for one of his teammates in a situation like that.

The Canadiens will be at the Madison Square Garden next month on November, 30 for an afternoon tilt and Xhekaj said this to the Rangers and Trouba:

“Seeing a hit like that, I didn’t like it, and I know I probably would have done something if I was in the lineup or dealt with it, for sure, but we’ll definitely remember it, and we’ll see what happens in the next game.”

Xhekaj has never had any issue defending his teammates, as he’s fought tough guys like Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves, Tanner Jeannot and Zack MacEwen in the past. It however remains to be seen if he will be in the lineup for that contest seeing that Xhekaj is off to a rough start, having yet to record a single point in his first five games and coming out with a -4 rating.

If he finds himself on MSG ice at the end of November, Xhekaj is expected to make Trouba pay for his actions.