Arber Xhekaj's mom Simona hypes up Canadiens with two-word message ahead of Golden Knights game

Arber Xhekaj's mom, Simona, shared her excitement ahead of the Montreal Canadiens' game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights (12-6-2) will play the Canadiens (7-10-2) at Bell Centre on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

The Canadiens announced the game details on X to hype up the fans. Responding to their post featuring Arber's image, Simona commented,

“Can’t wait 😜.”

The Canadiens' game against the Golden Knights is part of their "Hockey Fights Cancer" event. After Monday's game, the team had three days of practice to prepare for the game. They worked on defense, individual skills and offensive strategies.

Arber Xhekaj practiced alongside teammates Justin Barron and Jayden Struble in defensive drills. Patrik Laine skated in a no-contact jersey, while Michael Pezzetta skated as an extra forward.

On Friday, coach Martin St-Louis explained the team's training plan.

“We had a plan when we got back to work on Wednesday," St-Louis said (per NHL.com). "We focused a lot on the defensive aspects. Thursday, we worked on individual things. Today, we spent more time on the offensive game, but we let those drills go on so we could also work on our defensive game, but it was more structured for offense.”

This is the Canadiens' first game against the Vegas Golden Knights this season.

Arber Xhekaj and the Canadiens' tough game ahead with Vegas

Arber Xhekaj and the Montreal Canadiens will have a tough time playing against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas has performed strongly on the offensive front, scoring 3.75 goals per game (4th in the league), while Montreal averages 2.84 (19th). Defensively, Vegas has allowed 3.10 goals per game (16th) compared to Montreal's 3.68 (31st).

Vegas has a strong power play, converting 30.8% of opportunities, while Montreal's is 21.5%. The Canadiens, however, have a better penalty kill at 81.8%, compared to Vegas's 76.2%. In faceoffs, Vegas wins 50.8%, while Montreal wins 47.7%. So, the Canadiens will face difficulties and will need to implement a good strategy to defeat Vegas.

Vegas goalie Adin Hill has a 3.07 goals-against average, while Montreal's Sam Montembeault is at 3.68. Vegas' offense and special teams could be decisive against Montreal's struggling defense.