Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri will be out at least the rest against the Edmonton Oilers after taking a hit from forward Evander Kane Saturday, head coach Jared Bednar announced.
“He’s out — he’ll be out for the series at least, if not longer. The hit is the most dangerous hit in hockey,” he said.
The incident occurred just moments after Connor McDavid’s opening goal in the first period when Kane cross-checked Kadri from behind, sending him face-first into the boards. Kane was assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding on the play.
Kadri did not return for the rest of the game, and though his injury has not been disclosed, it’s suspected to be a right thumb injury, according to Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe.
“I don’t like it. Those are the ones that kind of give you the chills down your spine, and you’re taught from a young age that you don’t do that, and especially in that distance from the boards,” said Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog. “It’s a dangerous play, and, yeah, I don’t know what else to say. I’m sure they’ll take a look at it.”
Kane explained his view of what happened post-game:
“I was just coming in on the backcheck. Puck went wide, kind of dribbled into the corner. I know he likes to reverse hit. I was just trying to get up on him, that’s really all I did,” said Kane. “Unfortunately he went into the boards awkwardly and hurt his hand.”
Kadri has been a key contributor for the Avalanche all season, and his strong play has carried into the playoffs with six goals and eight assists in 12 games entering Saturday night’s game.
Through the first two games of the Western Conference Final, Kadri had one goal and three assists.
Colorado eventually won Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead.