Nazem Kadri scores first NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Overtime winner

Nazem Kadri (Logan34can, Wikimedia Commons)

Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri of London, Ontario scored his first National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner on Wednesday. Kadri accomplished the feat in a 3-2 Avalanche win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Kadri, who had not played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since game three of the Western Conference Finals when he broke his thumb from a hard hit into the boards by Evander Kane of the Edmonton Oilers, scored from goaltender Darcy Kuemper of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and former Montreal Canadiens left winger Artturi Lehkonen at 12:02 of the overtime period. With the win, the Avalanche now lead the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals three games to one. They can win the Stanley Cup on Friday with a game five victory over the Lightning at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

In game four, the Avalanche got all three of their goals from Canadians. Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia and Andrew Cogliano of Toronto, Ontario also scored for the Avalanche.

In 14 postseason games, Kadri had seven goals and eight assists for 15 points. He was a +7 with six penalty minutes, two power-play goals, two game winning goals, 49 shots on goal, 94 faceoff wins, three blocked shots, 17 hits, five takeaways and four giveaways. Kadri’s other game-winning goal in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs came in game four of the second round, a 6-3 Colorado win over the St. Louis Blues on May 23 from Canadian defensemen Cale Makar of Calgary, Alberta and Bowen Byram of Cranbrook, British Columbia.

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