Nazem Kadri has a job to do.
Probably not the job he envisioned when the Toronto Maple Leafs made him the seventh overall pick in the 2007 entry draft, back when he thought he would be a top-line centre, but a job he has embraced nonetheless.
So when Kadri nailed Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin with a good old-fashioned hip check that sent the Great 8 limping to the dressing room near the end of the first period of Saturday’s 2-1 Caps’ OT victory, he made no apologies.
Ovechkin was breaking out of the Washington defensive zone and dished the puck. At the same time Kadri went low and nailed him with a hip check on the thigh causing the Caps winger to somersault through the air and crash to the ice.
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin leaves game after this hit but returns for 2nd period #TORvsWSHhttps://t.co/wOWIjDUyNOpic.twitter.com/LNDwBF0gIX
It set off an immediate Twitter debate about the legality of the hit and while Kadri was assessed a minor for tripping, that call was debatable. Kadri said after the game he would do it again and admitted he wasn’t even thrilled to see Ovechkin return to the game.
“Ah, I’m not quite sure I was happy to see him come back on the ice,” Kadri admitted. “For sure I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy, but at the end of the day I’m cheating my teammates if I don’t try to get a piece of him because he’s dumping the puck in and going around out defencemen. At the end of the day I’ve got no choice; I’ve got to try to hold him up and save my defencemen.”
Not going overboard
Washington coach Barry Trotz wasn’t pleased to see his marquee player hobble off the ice, but didn’t let his emotions go overboard.
“First of all I’m just going to keep my own opinion about the hit [to myself],” Trotz said. “But when you see a star player down, you are always quite concerned. He’s the face of this franchise and you saw how he came back and how tough he is. It was a big hit.”
Toronto’s Nazem Kadri, left, landed a controversial hit on Washington’s Alex Ovechkin during the Leaf’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Capitals in Game 5 on Friday. (Getty Images)
Toronto coach Mike Babcock had a different opinion of the Kadri-Ovechkin collision.
“It’s interesting, Trotz probably thought there should have been a major and I thought there should have been no penalty,” Babcock said. “That’s the beauty of the playoffs. The other night when [Roman] Polak’s done for the year our bench thought it should have been a major and their bench thought it should have been no penalty. That’s kind of the playoffs.”
Ovi refreshed
Ovechkin was asked how he felt immediately after the hit and simply said, “Not worried.”
Ovechkin was in the dressing room when the Maple Leafs scored to make it 1-1.
“I was watching TV,” he said. “I was having a Coke.”
Kadri pleaded innocent of any crime on the play.
“I thought he got rid of the puck and I just tried to get a piece of him and he tried to get out of the way,” Kadri said. “It’s not like I stuck my knee out on him or anything like that. It happened pretty quick. From what I saw I thought it was okay.”
Kadri did not leave the ice immediately after the hit saying he was concerned for his opponent’s condition.
“I mean I was hoping he was okay,” Kadri said. “Obviously it’s a pretty tender area so you don’t want that to be an extended injury. I’m glad he came back, but he was running around a little bit when he came back so he must have been fine.”
By ‘running around’ Kadri was referring to Ovechkin’s chippy play early in the third period when he targeted everything in his way in a blue and white uniform.
Willing agitator
Kadri has embraced the role of a two-way centre in which he is making a significant contribution and it has made him a very valuable member of a team. He had career highs in goals (32) and points 61) this season.
He agitates the opposition and seems quite comfortable in the role.
“That’s my job,” Kadri said. “So I try to frustrate them as much as possible and it seemed like it was working for a bit.”
The Maple Leafs have a chance to tie the series against the regular-season champs at home on Sunday.
“I’m not surprised,” Kadri said. “This is what we expected – tight games. It feels like we have been playing in the playoffs for the last month now because the last part of our season it was almost do-or-die.”
