Canadiens HC discloses reason behind Arber Xhekaj's 3rd period benching in OT win over Sharks

Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis explained his decision to limit defenseman Arber Xhekaj's ice time during Thursday's game against the San Jose Sharks.

Despite the Canadiens' 4-3 overtime victory, Xhekaj saw only three seconds of action in the final period. St. Louis clarified that the limited ice time wasn't intentional, but rather a result of back-to-back power plays that extended the time between Xhekaj's shifts.

The coach didn't want to put Arber Xhekaj in a situation where he could struggle after such a long break. He acknowledged Xhekaj's performance this season but felt he wasn't at his best against the Sharks.

"It wasn't the plan to not play him at all. He was going to get on and we ended up getting back-to-back power plays, and then it was too long [since he last played]. I didn't want to put him in a situation to fail. It was 20 minutes he was sitting on the bench. Xhekaj has given us very good hockey this season, but I didn't think it was his game tonight," the Habs coach said post-game.

The Montreal Canadiens have now won three back-to-back wins after the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The Habs moved to sixth place in the wild card standings and are five points behind second-placed Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Canadiens travel to KeyBank Center to face the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.

Montreal Canadiens defeat San Jose Sharks, winning third straight

On Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the San Jose Sharks at Centre Bell. The Habs clinched their third straight victory after defeating the Sharks 4-3 in overtime.

Fabian Zetterlund opened the scoring for the Sharks after putting them ahead 1-0 at 3:56 into the first period. Three minutes later, Nick Suzuki tied it for the Canadiens. Nico Sturm restored the Sharks' lead to 2-1 at 12:36 before Suzuki scored his second to tie it 2-2 for the Canadiens before heading into the second period.

Will Smith was the lone scorer in the second period, who put the Sharks up 3-2 at 17:21. In the final period, Alex Newhook tied it 3-3 for the Montreal Canadiens and forced overtime. Cole Caufield scored the winner for the Habs 3:21 into overtime.