Nazem Kadri of London, Ontario has recorded his first career National Hockey League postseason hat trick. On Victoria Day Monday, the Colorado Avalanche center scored thrice in a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Blues. With the win, the Avalanche lead the best out of seven Western Conference Semifinal series three games to one.
Kadri scored his first goal of the game at 4:07 of the second period from Valeri Nichushkin. At the time, Colorado went up 2-1. Kadri then scored the game-winning goal at 7:37 of the second period from defensemen Bowen Byram of Cranbrook, British Columbia and Cale Makar of Calgary, Alberta, which put the Avalanche up 4-1. Kadri’s hat trick came at 9:38 of the third period from Nichushkin. The goal came on a St. Louis giveaway and was a key insurance marker as it put Colorado up 5-3.
Colorado can now close out the series on Wednesday night. Note the start time is 6 p.m. MT as there is only one game played that evening. That is because the Tampa Bay Lightning swept the Florida Panthers on Monday following their 2-0 win in game four.
In other NHL news, the Calgary Flames are moving their American Hockey League affiliate to Calgary. They were previously in Stockton, California.
