NHL benches Kane for hit from behind on Kadri
NEW YORK — The NHL suspended Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane for Game 4 of the Western Conference final for a hit from behind that injured Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri.
The incident occurred just over a minute into the first period of Game 3 on Saturday.
Kadri didn’t return to the game after Kane sent him crashing left arm-first into the boards.
“Those are the ones that kind of gives you the chills down your spine,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said after the game. “You’re taught from a young age that you don’t do that, and especially in that distance from the boards. It’s a dangerous play.”
The hit was reviewed and called a major penalty, though Kane avoided a game misconduct.
“I was just coming in on the backcheck,” Kane said after the game. “Puck went wide, kind of dribbled into the corner. I know he likes to reverse hit. I was just trying to get a bump on him, that’s really all I did.
“Unfortunately he went into the boards awkwardly and hurt his hand.”
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar says Kadri will be out for the remainder of the conference final, and possibly longer.
“The hit, it’s the most dangerous play in hockey,” Bednar said post-game. “He puts him in head-first from behind, eight feet from the boards. I’ll leave it at that.”
Colorado won the game 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“Unfortunately Nazem got hurt. So let’s start with that,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said Sunday. “I heard their press conference about how he is hurt, so I wish him the best. To me, we’ve seen that play — that type of hockey play — occurs during the playoffs, and it’s unfortunate someone got hurt. We took a five-minute penalty and were able to kill it off.”
BRUINS FIRE COACH CASSIDY
BOSTON — The Boston Bruins have fired coach Bruce Cassidy several weeks after losing in the first round of the playoffs.
General manager Don Sweeney announced the move Monday and said the search for a replacement will begin immediately. He called it “an extremely difficult decision.”
The Bruins made the playoffs in each of Cassidy’s six seasons behind the bench since taking over in February 2017. He coached them within one victory of the Stanley Cup in 2019.