Watch: Evander Kane injures Nazem Kadri with dirty cross-check in Game 3

Just 1:06 into Game 3 between the Avalanche and Oilers, Evander Kane put a nasty cross-check on Avs center Nazem Kadri.

The hit earned Kane a five-minute major penalty and sent Kadri to the Colorado locker room after being down on the ice for a minute in severe pain.

You can watch it below:

Evander Kane gets a five-minute major penalty for this hit on Nazem Kadri pic.twitter.com/wycyNWdDbc

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) June 5, 2022

There’s no word yet on Kadri’s status. The Oilers are up 1-0 in the first period, but the Avalanche lead the Western Conference Finals in games, 2-0.

(Update 8:11 p.m.) –

The Avs are up 2-1 in Game 3 after two periods, but Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting some very bad news on Kadri.

Early assessment on Kadri doesn’t sound good. Very likely he’s done for the series.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 5, 2022

We should learn more postgame. Stay tuned.

(Update 9:43 p.m.) –

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Dreger’s report in his postgame press conference and said Kadri is out for the series, if not longer. Kane also discussed the hit, though his explanation left a lot to be desired.

The Avs win comes with a loss. Here’s Bednar on the Kane cheap hit on Kadri. pic.twitter.com/fVUFcsEbON

— Rod Mackey (@Rod9sports) June 5, 2022

Evander Kane on the Kadri hit: "I was just coming in on the backcheck. Puck went wide, kind of dribbled into the corner. I know he likes to reverse it. I was just trying to get up on him, that’s really all I did. Unfortunately he went into the boards awkwardly and hurt his hand."

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 5, 2022

We’ll see if the NHL suspends Kane or not, with word likely coming on Sunday. The good news? The Avs won the game 4-2 and are now just one win away from their first Stanley Cup Finals berth since 2001.
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