Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri has been a target of some vile behavior from angry St. Louis Blues fans following his Game 3 collision with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington that resulted in the latter sustaining an injury that has taken him out for the rest of the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It's just too unfortunate for Kadri, to say the least, that he's absorbing such racist threats and taunts that absolutely have no space in sports — or in any other realm. What's impressive, though, is the way the Avalanche star is handling the situation, using the hurtful words to fuel him to a fantastic performance in Colorado's 6-3 win Monday night.
“Unfortunately, I've been dealing with that a long time. That's sad to say, but I'm getting good at putting in the rearview mirror. It's a big deal. I try to act like it's not. Just try to keep moving forward,” Kadri told TNT in a postgame interview. “I know those messages I got don't reflect every single fan in St. Louis. But for those that hate, that one's for them.”
Kadri earned first-star honors after the game for pulling off a hat trick, becoming just the second Avalanche player to score three goals in a playoff game in over 20 years.
Nazem Kadri became the second @Avalanche player since 1998 to record a #StanleyCup Playoff hat trick, following Nathan MacKinnon who also happened to do so against the Blues (3-1—4 in Game 2 of 2021 R1).#NHLStats: https://t.co/4dpPfBiysa pic.twitter.com/qXgUXNaCuq
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 24, 2022
Kadri and the Avalanche can move on to the Western Conference finals as soon as Wednesday when they look to finish the business against the Blues in Denver.
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