"Arber Xhekaj got walked like a dog": Fans react as Habs heavyweight exchanges blows with Nikita Zadorov in gutsy bout

NHL fans on social media reacted as Montreal Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj exchanged blows with Boston Bruins' Nikita Zadorov in Tuesday's matchup.

Xhekaj and Zadorov squared off after a faceoff in the Bruins' zone during the first period, dropping gloves for a lengthy exchange of heavy punches.

Nikita Zadorov landed several solid right hands, including a notable uppercut that appeared to rock Xhekaj. The Canadiens enforcer fought back valiantly, but the Bruins defenseman gained the upper hand, eventually talking Arber Xhekaj down.

Watch the video below:

One fan on X (formerly called Twitter) reacted:

"Xhekaj got walked like a dog."

Another chimed in:

"Always love that the guys grab each others heads to keep them from slamming into the ice. Fighting with gentlemanly characteristics."

Here are some of the other top reactions on X:

"Zadorov the clear winner. With Arber Xhekaj overmatched, Zadorov pulled his late punches and ended it with a mercy takedown," a third fan wrote. "Split decision. Z landed some early but it looked to me like X landed the biggest one late," one fan opined. "XHEKAJ With the W . Good fight by both," another said. "XHEKAJ stunned him, realized it, and went for the rapid punches to try and get the KO," another chimed in.

Arber Xhekaj's Canadiens down Nikita Zadorov's Bruins

On Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens thrashed the Boston Bruins 6-2 at TD Garden. The Habs improved to 20-12-5, sitting second in the Atlantic Division.

Sammy Blais opened the scoring for the Canadiens after putting them ahead 1-0 at 11:08 of the first period. Marat Khusnutdinov tied it 1-1 for the hosts at 12:25. Alex Steeves scored on the power play to make it 2-1 for the Bruins before heading into the second period.

Ivan Demidov was the lone scorer in the second period, tying it 2-2 for the Canadiens at 1:58. The Canadiens stormed in the third period, scoring four unanswered goals.

Zachary Bolduc made it 3-2 at 7:04. The Habs went on to score twice in less than ten minutes with power play goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, making it 5-2 for the visitors. Juraj Slafkovsky scored the winner for Montreal at 12:22.

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Edited by Abhishek Dilta