Leafs/Habs set to go off like fireworks tonight as both teams opt to dress their top enforcers

In case you missed it, during an interview last week, Habs forward Michael Pezzetta issued a challenge to Ryan Reaves, with whom he had dropped the gloves back in 2021, when Reaves was still with the New York Rangers. The Leafs dressing Reaves in the first opportunity that they got against the Habs seemed more like a message than anything; Pezzetta wants to challenge Reaves? The Leafs were prepared to give Reavo the chance to oblige him.

As it turns out, the Canadiens have opted not to play Pezzetta tonight against the Leafs, so there will be no Pezzetta/Reaves rematch. Unfortunate, no? Well, not necessarily. As it turns out, they're planning to dress someone a little bigger and a little meaner. The Canadiens appear to be responding to the Leafs dressing Reaves tonight by dressing a goon of their own in Arber Xhekaj.

Pezzetta comes in at 6'1, 210 lbs, so he's not exactly small by any stretch of the imagination. However, Xhekaj stands 6'4 and weighs in at nearly 240 lbs. If that's not send a message back to the Leafs, I don't know what is.

Both the Leafs and the Habs will be dressing lineups predominantly filled with players who are not expected to make their respective teams out of camp, with a few NHLers scattered among them. For these two teams to be dressing players like Reaves and Xhekaj, if it doesn't result in a heavyweight fight, I'll be shocked.