Kadri knocked out of Game 3 after dangerous Kane hit

Nazem Kadri can’t seem to catch a break in the playoffs.

Game 3 of the Western conference final between the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers started off with a bang on Saturday night.

It only took Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid 38 seconds to score first for the Oilers. Just over a minute later, teammate Evander Kane was assessed a major penalty for boarding Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri.

Kane cross-checked Kadri in the back, causing him to go barrelling into the boards head-first. The Avs’ forward had trouble getting up, and went straight to the dressing room under his own power.

The major penalty call held up following a review, with the officials opting not to eject Kane for the dangerous hit. The 30-year-old was allowed to remain in the game because his hit was deemed not to cause an obvious injury to Kadri.

The play will undoubtedly be reviewed by the NHL Department of Player Safety to see if it is worthy of supplemental discipline.

As Kane watched helplessly from the penalty box, Edmonton managed to kill off the five-minute powerplay, with goalie Mike Smith making nine saves while down a player.

Kadri did not return to the game for the duration of the first period, and was not on the bench to begin the second period.

Colorado has not said whether Kadri will return or not, but did share that he is still being evaluated.

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TSN’s Darren Dreger shared that Kadri may not even return in the series.

Losing Kadri could be a tough blow for Colorado. He has posted six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 12 playoff games this spring after recording a career-high 87 points in 71 regular season games.

Kane has been one of the Oilers’ brightest stars in this postseason, scoring 13 goals and 17 points in 14 games, after signing with the team as a free agent in January.

Colorado leads the Western Conference final 2-0.

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