Arber Xhekaj's massive open ice hit on Zach Hyman divides NHL fans: "Definition of interference, but okay" "Beautiful hit"

The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers faced off in an exciting matchup on Monday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal. A massive open ice hit by Canadiens’ defenceman Arber Xhekaj on Oilers forward Zach Hyman has divided hockey fans on social media.

In the late first period, Hyman was carrying the puck through the neutral zone when Xhekaj lined him up and delivered a crushing blow, sending Hyman flying to the ice. No penalty was called on the play, causing fans to debate over whether it was a clean hit or interference.

On X, fans weighed in with differing opinions, with one tweeting,

"That's the definition of interference but okay".

Another fan wrote,

“Beautiful hit. Don't say many good open ice hits like that anymore.” on X.

Here are some fan reactions:

"That’s what happens when you have no skill like Hyman. No scan, no deception, just skating in a straight line. Not a good skater." one fan wrote.

"Everyone complaining about interference like he didn’t touch the puck two seconds before getting hit" another fan wrote.

"I'm starting to think that people want no hitting at all in hockey. Come on. This is fine. Clean hit, not late." a user commented.

"I guess you can crosscheck your opponent to the face when he doesn't have the puck now. Who knew?" another user wrote.

The Canadiens won 3-0 against the Edmonton Oilers. Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher and Kaiden Guhle scored for the Canadiens.

Sam Montembeault stopped all 30 shots. The Oilers' Calvin Pickard stopped 22 shots in the loss.

Paul Bissonnette trolls Oilers Brett Kulak for his reaction after Arber Xhekaj's hit on Zach Hyman

Former NHL player turned analyst Paul Bissonnette took to Twitter/X to troll Edmonton Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak for his reaction to Arber Xhekaj's big hit on Zach Hyman.

After Xhekaj’s open-ice check on Hyman, Kulak appeared ready to fight whoever hit Hyman. However, once Kulak realized it was the 6'4", 240lb- Xhekaj who laid out his teammate, he quickly backed down.

Bissonnette mocked Kulak by tweeting,

"Kulak didn’t want the smoke" in reference to him not actually fighting Xhekaj despite his initial reaction.

Arber Xhekaj is known for his physical style of play, amassing 30 hits already in just 15 games.

Next, the Oilers will face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday while the Candiens face the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.