Arber Xhekaj levels Ryan Reaves with a huge open ice hit.

On Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent a message to the Montreal Canadiens when they inserted enforcer Ryan Reaves into the lineup ahead of their clash on Hockey Night in Canada, but thus far it seems the Canadiens were more than prepared to deal with the Maple Leafs' big man.

Not only did the Canadiens dominate the first period on the scoreboard, taking a commanding 3-0 lead over the Leafs after 20 minutes of play, but they would start off the second period hot as well thanks to the more physical aspects of their game.

It would be Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj, who has something of a minor rivalry with Reaves, who would send the message in the second when he leveled Reaves with a big time hit in the open ice. Reaves was looking back at a puck coming his way near center ice when Xhekaj caught him unawares, flattening the big man with a thunderous body check.

Here is a look at multiple angles of the hit:

Reaves won't be happy about that, especially after Xhekaj mocked him earlier in the game. During the first period Reaves looked like he was trying to get Xhekaj to drop the gloves, but Xhekaj merely pointed to the scoreboard with his team up by 3 goals and waved Reaves off.

There's still plenty of time in this game and something tells me these 2 aren't done with one another just yet.