KADRI, LEAFS GET AWAY WITH IT
No suspension for hit on Sedin
They fought, they yelled, they laughed — they even sang a Bon Jovi song on the bench — and they didn’t have to pay for the pleasure.
Many corners of the National Hockey League, led by the Vancouver Canucks, are upset that Nazem Kadri was not suspended for a blind-side shoulder hit on Daniel Sedin. But the Maple Leafs will look back at Saturday’s 6-3 win as an unintended team-building exercise, no matter what awaits them the rest of the season.
When they play again Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings, Kadri will still be in the lineup, the NHL deciding Sunday not to punish his run-in with Sedin. Kadri’s overaggressiveness has been disciplined before, but his five-minute charging call and ejection were deemed enough, not to mention the frontier justice of getting jumped by Jannik Hansen.
“We disagree with the ruling this morning and are very disappointed,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a statement released by the team Sunday. “However, we must accept it and put it behind us, so we can focus on (Monday’s game in Brooklyn).”
Sedin, who scored on the play, a 2-on-1 with brother Henrik, was removed from the game and examined for head and neck injuries, but was well enough to talk to reporters after.
“I took the shot ... I don’t know, you saw what happened,” Sedin said. “(Kadri) came pretty well eastwest (unseen). That’s a tough one. You fall down, you try and feel that everything is OK.”
Sedin’s head hit the ice, though he played that part down.
Sunday was a day off for the Leafs. Toronto coach Mike Babcock said Saturday he did not believe there would be a Kadri suspension, putting his faith in “good people at the league” who would be reviewing the matter.
Also kicked out as the wild third period unravelled were Leafs Matt Martin, defenceman Connor Carrick and goalie Frederik Andersen, along with Canucks Hansen, Derek Dorsett, Alex Burrows and Ryan Miller. As the teams exited at the horn, defenceman Erik Gudbranson yelled down the corridor that Martin was “(bleeping) dead,” a reference to the rematch in Vancouver next month. In the jubilant Leafs room, it was shrugged off.
“A couple of hits in the third period and you just could see it kind of escalate and escalate,” Martin said. “It probably went over the top, but those kind of things happen from time to time. I’m just happy to see everyone stick up for themselves.”
Dorsett made his loud departure after fighting Leo Komarov, gesturing at the Leaf bench. Martin had one leg dangling over the side at one point, but said he wasn’t contemplating hopping on. Babcock, who usually stays clear of such antics, was up and yelling at Dorsett, too.
Then came Alex Burrows spearing Morgan Rielly of the Leafs and stalking him for a fight after Rielly’s clean hit on Hansen that preceded the Sedin-Kadri affair.
The biggest brawl was yet to come, with Martin facing Vancouver’s Troy Stecher, joined by Miller as third man, which triggered Andersen coming down the ice.
As that lengthy penalty list was being sorted, Leafs rookies Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews were caught joining the Air Canada Centre crowd in singing along to Livin’ On A Prayer.
Babcock teams are not noted for these kinds of rough and tumble games, but a young club on its first three-game winning streak can draw some energy from it.
“I think it’s fun for them,” Babcock said. “You’re young guys and you live in a great city and you never get to go out. Now you’ve got a day off and a practice day, looks like a dream come true to me.”
Andersen is a key reason for the Leafs feeling better about themselves, beaten three times in 26 shots on Saturday, but facing more than 40 in tight wins over Buffalo and Edmonton.
“Andersen looked after us the last two nights and then we picked up Andy tonight,” Babcock said. “It was a nice night to be a goalie. Just getting some confidence and playing, I think that takes us — what’s our record at home? 4-1? So, we’ve only won one game on the road and we had lots of opportunity to win and should have won.”
The Leafs play four of the next five and five of the next seven at the ACC. They have also protected five third-period leads and obeyed Babcock’s edict after the Buffalo game to hunt for an insurance goal.
“That’s our motto here, no matter what the score, just keep going hard,” Marner said. “We want to play a hard 60 (minutes) every game and I felt like tonight we really impacted on that and everyone bought into the system.”
Just don’t expect the added drama every night.