Fight night in Montreal: Xhekaj takes on Givani Smith; Pezzetta tangles with Ryan Lomberg

The Montreal Canadiens took on the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in what turned out to be a fiesty one, filled with penalties and a trio of fights.

The second fight of the third period saw Arber Xhekaj take on Givani Smith, a matchup that was brewing since the end of the second period when the pair received ten minute misconducts. Xhekaj got several good blows in before they were separated by the officials.

Givani Smith wanted to fight Arber Xhekaj.

I do not think it was a smart idea on his part pic.twitter.com/0mKTvW1OEU— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) January 20, 2023

Then just a few minutes later, Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg and Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta dropped the mitts in a spirted bout where both players got some punches in. Both players got five-minutes for fighting, but Pezzetta was given an additional two minutes for roughing and was sent to the locker room for the remainder of the game.

Wheewwwww Pezzetta and Lomberg were chucking bombs pic.twitter.com/4ep23a1REy— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) January 20, 2023

The Canadiens went on to lose the game by a score of 6-2. They'll be back in action on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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