Almost a year after Nazem Kadri last found himself in hot water during the Stanley Cup Playoffs over a boneheaded move, it looks as though the Maple Leafs forward is once again to cost his team over a high-stakes series with the Bruins.
It didn’t take long for Kadri to hear from the league office after he was tossed from the B’s Game 2 win on Saturday for dropping Jake DeBrusk with a cross-check to the face — as the NHL’s Department of Player Safety tweeted shortly after the 4-1 final that Kadri will be offered an in-person hearing for disciplinary action.
Speaking postgame, a clearly dazed DeBrusk took the high road when it came to discussing Kadri, who got into a tussle with the B’s winger early in the first period before both skaters collided in the middle stanza with a knee-on-knee hit.
“I think that’s up to the league to decide to be honest,” DeBrusk said. “Yeah, I’ve got no comment on that.”
Nazem Kadri cross-checks Jake DeBrusk in the face.
Kadri gets a 5-minute major and game misconduct. pic.twitter.com/9CTdHuGNfb
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 14, 2019
While DeBrusk’s status for Game 3 on Monday night is a bit up in the air, it doesn’t seem like Kadri will be playing any time soon, given his disciplinary history. With an in-person hearing scheduled, it seems like a given that Kadri is going to suspended — with the league having the ability to suspend a player for five or more games when they call the player in for the hearing. Had it been a phone hearing, 1-3 games would have been the likely result.
Kadri’s in-person hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Kadri has a lengthy rap sheet when it comes to the NHL DOPS, with the center suspended for 14 games over four separate incidents since November 2013, while also getting fined a combined $9,000 for another three infractions. Given his track record, it seems like the NHL is prepared to throw the book at Kadri, who drilled
Tommy Wingels
with a late hit in pretty much the exact same spot at TD Garden during Game 1 of last year’s playoff matchup, earning himself a three-game suspension.
Losing Kadri is a tough blow for the Leafs, with the 28-year-old pivot anchoring a skilled third line with
Patrick Marleau
and
William Nylander
and tallying 80 goals over his last three seasons. One of the few Leafs forwards that can knock around skaters down low, Kadri was arguably Toronto’s top forward during Saturday’s loss — tipping a puck past
Tuukka Rask
for the Leafs' lone goal of the night at 10:44 in the third.
While a great relief performance by
Tomas Plekanec
during last year’s playoff series allowed the Leafs to absorb some of Kadri’s absence and roll out a line that was still able to match up against
Patrice Bergeron
and Boston’s top line, Plekanec is long gone — with Toronto now likely forced to shift a 39-year-old Marleau or Nylander over the pivot.
“As I recalled, they put Plekanec in against Bergeron,”
Bruce Cassidy
said. “He did a good job. He got a good hit on him in one of the games. Veteran guy that knew his role. So in that sense, I don’t know if they lost anything. Team-wise, it's the loss of an accomplished player in the league for three games.”
What a dumb move from Kadri — who’s the not first established NHLer this postseason to earn a suspension for an ill-advised move. If the Lightning go down 3-0 to the Blue Jackets Sunday night, Hart Trophy favorite
Nikita Kucherov
might want to switch hotels from the rest of his teammates.
To start the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff suspension thread: one game for Nikita Kucherov for boarding Markus Nutivaara #GoBolts #CBJ pic.twitter.com/O9V2c6Ztl1
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 13, 2019
B’s banged up at forward
While Cassidy categorized DeBrusk as “day to day” on Sunday at Warrior Ice Arena and noted that the winger will travel with the rest of the club up to Toronto,
Marcus Johansson
will not join the rest of his teammates on the flight up.
Johansson was a late scratch from Saturday’s lineup after dealing with flu-like symptoms, and is still feeling some symptoms. While Johansson added some speed to
Charlie Coyle’s
line in Thursday’s Game 1 loss, a revamped third line featuring Coyle,
David Backes
and
Danton Heinen
more than held its own on Saturday —generating a pair of goals in 5:19 of 5v5 TOI.
However, Johansson has a chance to head up north and join his teammates for practice on Monday morning if he begins to feel better — although it could cause a few lineup questions if DeBrusk is somehow cleared, although that seems unlikely.
“Decision to be made,” Cassidy said of who would slot out if Johansson returns for Game 3. “Played very well. No complaints with anybody. So we have to decide on that. You still want to dress your best lineup. It will be a little bit more about — you can not be sick anymore, but weak. Even if it’s a 24, 48-hour thing and he looks good and is flying around, then I guess we'd be considering him more strongly about putting him in.”
If both DeBrusk and Johansson can't go,
Paul Carey
will be one of the next men up, as the Weymouth native was recalled from Providence ahead of Game 2.
Carey, 30, has tallied 22 goals in just 30 games down with the P-Bruins this season — and was solid during his brief two-game call-up earlier this season, generating a 58.8 Corsi For Percentage while earning some reps alongside
David Krejci
.
“
Paul Carey is up right now. He’s a left shot. He brings some other elements,” Cassidy said. “If he’s not the leading scorer down there, he’s darn close in goals, assists, points. He plays on the power play…. He’s been around. He’s played over 100 games in the NHL. He would be a guy that would certainly fill some of that in terms of the characteristics or skills that come with his game.”
While
Sean Kuraly
(fractured hand) and
John Moore
(upper-body injury) both skated on Sunday at Warrior Ice Arena and will travel to Toronto, Cassidy doesn’t expect both regulars to be cleared in time for Game 3.
“Moore skated with Kuraly today,” Cassidy said. “Progressing well. Until they’re with the team. It’s hard to say that they’d go into the lineup. That’s typically the protocol in season, obviously this time of the year, you may have to skip a step. ...They’re day to day and that’s the easiest way to do it.”
B’s ailing on blue line
Along with the already existing injuries to both Moore and
Kevan Miller
(week to week with a lower-body injury), the Bruins also lost another two bodies during Saturday’s win.
Torey Krug
was drilled by
Jake Muzzin
midway through the second period, with the playmaking defenseman stumbling on the ice when attempting to get back on his skates. He did not return for the rest of the game, while
Connor Clifton
exited in the third period after sustaining an upper-body injury.
While it didn’t look good for Krug after he appeared to slam his head — sans helmet — against the boards, Cassidy wasn’t ready to state postgame that Krug had indeed suffered a concussion.
On Sunday, Cassidy was not ready to rule out either defenseman from returning on Monday, despite how nasty Krug’s collision was.
“Krug came in feeling better, he’ll be day to day,” Cassidy said. “See if he gets on the ice tomorrow. Did not skate today, nor did the rest of the group. … Cliffy - he left, we’ll put him as day to day as well. Upper body. So three guys (with DeBrusk).”
While the Bruins have
Steven Kampfer
as a depth option that can easily slot in if Clifton (a fellow right-shot defenseman) is sidelined for a bit, the loss of Krug could create some headaches for Boston, aside from the obvious loss of offensive production.
If Krug is not cleared, it looks as though
Jakub Zboril
will be the next man up for Boston, as he will travel up to Toronto on Sunday. A left-shot defensemen, Zboril largely underwhelmed during his stint up with Boston this season (two games played and just 10:56 ATOI), but he
right now — given that
Jeremy Lauzon
is dealing with an upper-body injury and
Urho Vaakanainen
also dealt with an illness over the last week.
However, Vaakanainen played for Providence on Sunday in the Baby B’s regular-season finale, opening up the window for the skilled prospect to make a last-second trip up to Toronto if need be.
“Again, until we get on the ice tomorrow morning for pregame skate and see these defensemen, we have to take precautionary measures,” Cassidy said of bringing aboard Zboril for the time being.
Speaking from experience
“St. Louis - I played in one playoff game with Chicago,” Cassidy said. “I was on the bench and I remember, it might be on video somewhere,
Jeremy Roenick
got cross checked right in the face by
Glen Featherstone.
… We won the game, won the series. That was probably it. I didn’t play much, but I was there. I had a great seat for that. … That was a true playoff rivalry.”