Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri responded in a big way in Game 4 Monday night against the St. Louis Blues after a tumultuous few days.
He became just the second Avalanche player since 1998 to record a hat trick and totaled four points to help give Colorado a 3-1 series advantage over the physical Blues.
Flushed in controversy after being a part of a collision that saw the Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington leave the series due to a knee injury in Game 3, Kadri and his family had been receiving death threats from St. Louis fans.
The 31-year old denied any intention of injuring the Blues goalie while Colorado head coach Jared Bednar insisted the collision was an accident between the forward, Blues defenseman, Calle Rosén, and Binnington
Still, it didn’t stop the Blues fanbase from blaming Kadri, nor did it stop Binnington from allegedly throwing a water bottle at him at the end of the game.
With both the anger of the Blues players and the fans, the 31-year-old didn’t blink and tried to use the outside voices and distractions as fuel for his terrific performance.
“For those that hate,” he began, “that one’s for them.”
Kadri also recognized that he wasn’t the only one who has ever received death threats like this and was worried about those that weren’t as mentally tough as him going through that as well.
The Avalanche has responded to those death threats and has been working with the St. Louis police as part of the investigation.
His playoff hat trick is also the eighth in Avalanche/Nordiques history following Nathan MacKinnon, who had recorded one just last year against these same Blues.
Puck drop for Game 5 between the Blues and Avalanche is set for Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET.
