Kadri scores first playoff hat-trick as Avalanche pushes Blues to brink of elimination | CBC Sports

Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal flurry in the second period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their conference series. West.

Kadri’s outburst came after he received racist death threats on social media following a first-period collision with Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Kadri, who was booed loudly every time he touched the puck, skated to the glass and appeared to wave to Blues fans after each of his first two goals, drawing even more boos. It was the first triplet of his career in the playoffs.

Erik Johnson and Devon Toews also scored and Mikko Rantanen added an empty net for the Avalanche, while Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves.

The Avalanche took control of the game, and the series, with three goals in less than two minutes at the start of the second period.

Johnson got it going with his first of the playoffs at the 2:44 mark. Kadri gave the Avalanche the lead with his first at 4:07 and Toews scored 19 seconds later to make it 3-1.

Kadri gave Perron a late push a minute later, prompting a retaliation from Perron and Buchnevich that sent them both into the box with minor penalties. Colorado didn’t score with a two-man lead, but Kadri buried his second goal moments after it ended to make it 4-1.

Perron and Buchnevich each scored power play goals late in the second to bring the Blues back within one, but Kadri’s goal midway through the third thwarted the comeback attempt.

Perron gave the Blues a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game. Buchnevich set up the goal by intercepting a Toews pass behind the Avalanche net and quickly passed it to an open Perron up front.

The Blues escaped the first half with a lead despite being outshot 15-3. Husso made several difficult saves prompting chants of “HUSS!” from the crowd.

St. Louis police are investigating the threats against Kadri. The NHL told the AP on Monday that it is working with the St. Louis Police Department to employ enhanced security procedures both in the arena and at the hotel.

Panthers Full Sweep Lightning

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 49 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory Monday night that sent the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions back to the Finals. Eastern Conference for the sixth time in eight. years.

Pat Maroon broke a scoreless tie, hitting Zach Bogosian’s shot behind Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky before the puck hit the net just over six minutes into the third period. Ondrej Palat added an empty goal with 22 seconds remaining.

Reigning Trophy winner Conn Smythe limited the high-scoring Panthers, who averaged an NHL-best 4.11 goals while compiling the league’s best record during the regular season, to just three goals in four games.

The Lightning joined the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens as the only franchises to win at least 10 consecutive playoff series. Their bid to become the first team in 40 years to capture three straight Stanley Cup titles will continue in the East finals against either the Carolina Hurricanes or the New York Rangers.

disallowed goals

The defending champions persevered Monday night despite goals from Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov being disallowed in a 48-second span of the second period, the first after Florida coach Andrew Brunette challenged and a lengthy Replay review determined that Palat took the puck out of the game. the boards before Mikhail Sergachev fired a shot that Killorn sailed over Bobrovsky.

The Panthers became the first Presidents’ Trophy winners to be swept by a defending Stanley Cup champion in the playoffs since Edmonton topped Calgary en route to another title in 1988.

Vasilevskiy, who entered Monday night having given up a goal in each of his previous four games, has allowed a total goal in his last seven series-clinching wins.