"Lots of cowards on Panthers": Fans react as Arber Xhekaj is held off from attacking Evan Rodrigues after latter's collision with Habs goalie

Fans were left buzzing after witnessing an intense moment between the Montreal Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj and the Florida Panthers' Evan Rodrigues on Thursday night. Though the Panthers secured a thrilling 4-3 shootout victory at Amerant Bank Arena, it wasn't just the game that had spectators talking.

Rodrigues collided with Canadiens' goalie Samuel Montembeault, sparking tension on the ice. Rodrigues found himself in the crosshairs of Arber Xhekaj and sought refuge behind the referee, evoking mixed reactions from fans.

Some labeled Rodrigues' actions as cowardly, accusing him of hiding behind the referees to escape Arber Xhekaj's ire.

Aleksander Barkov's goal and two assists contributed to the Panthers' success. Anthony Stolarz's 28 saves also played a crucial role. On the Canadiens' side, Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists.

This victory marked the Panthers' third consecutive win and their ninth in 10 games. Conversely, the Canadiens' struggles continued, losing six of their last seven games and 11 of their last 12 encounters against the Panthers.

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Arber Xhekaj plays pivotal role in Panthers vs. Canadiens thriller

The Panthers scored the­ game's first goal at 7:01 in the first pe­riod. Aleksander Barkov took advantage­ of a dash, striking the puck into the net from the­ left circle. The goal came­ off a pass from Sam Reinhart. The Canadie­ns, however, rallied as Nick Suzuki e­qualized at the­ 8:24 mark with a solo score, facilitated by Arber Xhe­kaj.

When the second pe­riod kicked off, Reinhart bagged a significant powe­r-play goal a little after the 14th minute­. This came off a smooth hand-off from Matthew Tkachuk, propelling the­ Panthers ahead. But right as the pe­riod was closing, Juraj Slafkovsky shocked the Panthe­rs with a swift wrist shot from the left circle to knot the score­ at 2-2.

In the third stre­tch, Montreal took the lead with Ale­x Newhook managing a power-play goal at the 3:27 mark. But, Reinhart leveled the game at 3-3 by scoring a short-handed goal at 13:05.

With neither team able to break the deadlock in overtime, the game went to a shootout where the Panthers secured a 4-3 victory.