Avalanche should play it safe with Nazem Kadri before the playoffs

The Colorado Avalanche don’t need to take any chances with Nazem Kadri and his finger injury.

They wrapped up the Central Division and Western Conference’s No. 1 seed with a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, but lost Kadri in the process.

He appeared to take a puck to the hand area in the second period and didn’t return. The Avalanche officially called it an upper-body injury, given hockey’s vague rules about disclosing ailments.

After the game, head coach Jared Bednar made an interesting comment about Nazem Kadri moving forward.

“Give it a day or two and we should know more, sort of figure out what his pain tolerance is,” Bednar said. “I’m sure it’s something he may or may not be able to play through, but we’ll take it day by day and see how it goes.”

Perhaps, Nazem Kadri broke a finger or has some sort of contusion, that is still unclear.

But why would the Avs risk it between now and the playoffs?

Those will get going in 10 days and Colorado doesn’t really need his services down the stretch. They’re two points from wrapping up the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the NHL’s best record. That should get done on Thursday night against the lowly Flames.

Risking further injury to Kadri before the postseason doesn’t make a lot of sense.

And don’t forget, the last time he came back from a hand injury, he scored the game-winning goal in OT against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Nazem Kadri missed four full contests after Edmonton’s Evander Kane injured his thumb in the Western Conference Final.

We’ll learn more from Bednar on Kadri’s latest ailment soon, but regardless, sitting him for the final five games of the regular season would likely be a wise move.

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