Tensions are boiling between the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
On Saturday, the Avalanche bested the Blues 5-2 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, but all anyone is talking about after the fact is Nazem Kadri and Jordan Binnington. In the first period of Game 3, Kadri collided with Binnington in net after the forward was attempting to make a play on the puck on an offensive rush.
It’s a real unfortunate bang-bang play, as Kadri and Calle Rosen collided in the crease, sending both crashing into Binnington. Ville Husso then ended up having to relieve Binnington as the Stanley Cup winning netminder exited the game with an injury and didn’t return.
Ville Husso is now in between the pipes for the @StLouisBlues after Jordan Binnington left with an injury on the play below. ⤵️#StanleyCup | #stlblues pic.twitter.com/8oaGHdPHH2
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 22, 2022
After the game finished, Kadri was suddenly hit with a water bottle while he was being interviewed by NHL on TNT.
"Not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me" 😳
Nazem Kadri appears to have a water bottle thrown at him while discussing the collision with Binnington 🔎 pic.twitter.com/6XLbAdxEEm
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 22, 2022
Multiple journalists at the game confirmed it was Binnington himself who threw the water bottle at Kadri, with the evidence found at the scene of the crime shortly after.
.@Liam_mchugh: pic.twitter.com/0FlVTGaJyn
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) May 22, 2022
The saga didn’t end there, however, as Blues head coach Craig Berube had some choice words to say about Kadri and whether or not he thought the play was a dirty one.
Berube on Binnington collision: “Look at Kadri’s reputation, that’s all I’ve got to say.” #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) May 22, 2022
In postgame media interviews, Kadri stated that he likely wouldn’t have hit Binnington had he not collided with Rosen.
#Avs Nazem Kadri talking to reporters in St. Louis about the collision with Calle Rosen and Jordan Binnington:
"Their defenseman kind of collided with me and pushed me into him. Had that not been the case, I don't think I would've hit him at all."
— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) May 22, 2022
While Kadri does have a reputation of making dirty hits, the injury to Binnington was an unintended side effect of a hockey play that just happens sometimes. It sucks, as Binnington now is out for the series due to the injury he sustained on that play, but the collision with Kadri is purely accidental.
The NHL, meanwhile, is set to investigate the allegations that Binnington threw a water bottle at Kadri.
The NHL will look into the allegations that Jordan Binnington threw a water bottle at Nazem Kadri postgame.
Potential discipline is probably not more than a fine – if anything at all – but the league will look into it.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) May 22, 2022
We’ll have to wait and see if Binnington is punished for his completely unnecessary off-ice outburst and how this will impact the series going forward.
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