Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri is the latest player to earn himself a hearing with NHL disciplinarian Brian Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety after a nasty collision that left left Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom flat on his back on Wednesday night.
Early in the first period, Kadri bombarded the Minnesota netminder during a routine play and followed through with a big hit to Backstrom's head. Upon further review, it appeared that Kadri didn't attempt to play the rebound after teammate Joffrey Lupul's shot was blocked, but instead opted to level the goaltender with his forearm inside the crease. He received a two-minute minor for goaltender interference.
Backstrom left the game and did not return.
It turned out that Kadri was just getting started. Later in the third, the forward followed up his earlier hit with an illegal head shot to Minnesota's Mikael Granlund and was assessed with a match penalty, resulting in an ejection.
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Leafs coach Randy Carlyle did not agree with the ruling.
“He made initial contact with the shoulder and the kid had the head down and he didn't have his arms up and he ran into the player,” Carlyle said, via the Toronto Star. "Obviously the referees saw it differently."
Kadri's phone hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday per the National Post.
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