NHL Experts Point Out How Capitals-Canadiens Brawl Started

Friedman highlighted that tensions started building the moment Xhekaj stepped onto the ice for warmups, exchanging heated words with Capitals forward Tom Wilson.

Meanwhile, Bieksa agreed with Friedman’s assessment, pointing toward Xhekaj's presence on the ice as a catalyst for the enhanced physicality shown by the Habs.

"These guys would never do this in the regular season," Bieksa said. "Everyone gets 20 pounds (heavier) and grows 3 inches bigger."

“It's Anders versus (Wilson) all of the series. Now, they all feel like they can take shots at Wilson, because at the end of the day, Anderson or Xhekaj is gonna be the one that answers the bells.

“You’re seeing everybody chip away at Tom Wilson now.”

The late second-period melee began when Wilson hit Jake Evans, sparking retaliation from Ivan Demidov. Xhekaj and Wilson then tried to engage but were separated by officials. Moments later, Josh Anderson fought Wilson at the Capitals’ bench, leading to game misconducts and additional roughing penalties.

Xhekaj, in his Stanley Cup playoffs debut, finished the night with 10:05 of ice time, two penalty minutes, and a +1 rating.

The Canadiens' offense was powered by goals from Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Alexandre Carrier, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Nick Suzuki.

Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes finished the game after starter Sam Montembeault exited with an injury in the lone negative development for the Habs in Game 3.

Montembeault exited midway through the second period with an apparent lower-body injury and didn't return. The injury preceded Capitals goalie Logan Thompson's exit in the third frame after being injured in a collision with a teammate. 

With the win, the Canadiens cut the Capitals’ series lead to 2-1. The two teams will meet again Sunday night for Game 4 at Bell Centre in Montreal.