Woody Paige: Avalanche’s Kadri reappears and slips in the winning puck against Lightning

By Woody Paige June 22, 2022 | updated 3 years ago

Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (91) warms up with the team before the start of Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Christian Murdock/The Gazette

It was the puck of providence.

The vanishing, rising point-blank shot by Nazem Kadri 12 minutes and 2 seconds into overtime produced a 3-2 victory and an overwhelming 3-1 Stanley Cup series advantage Wednesday night.

He’s baaaaaaack, and the Avs came back twice to turn off the lights and the Lightning in all of Tampa Bay.

Kadri, who has become an overnight sensation in the postseason, didn’t even know he had scored. The Lightning didn’t even know what hit them.

The lightning-fast Avalanche even won on a surface that was Slurpee-like.

After the first period, as Kadri was being interviewed on ABC by hockey reporter Emily Kaplan, he called the ice “garbage.’’

Nazem Kadri’s overtime goal puts Avalanche one win away from Stanley Cup

Because of 100-degree temperatures and humidity nobody would let a family dog suffer through, rinks do thaw. Some conspiracy theorists would believe the Lightning wanted a slushy layer, but the National Hockey League actually controls the conditions in the arena.

But Kadri’s trash-talk description would make folks wonder.

His garbage transformed into treasure for the Avs in the bonus period, though.

PHOTOS: Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final

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The overtime play was starting to indicate, though, that the Lightning and the Avalanche might continue well into the night. The last time the Avs played in Florida in the Stanley Cup a fourth game, oddly enough, had gone into a third overtime and finally was decided by a winning goal by Uwe Krupp and a championship. Twenty-six years later, Kadri’s goal very well will set the Avalanche up for their third championship.

The Lightning are forced to win a third straight time over the Avs in order to capture the Cup.

The Avalanche have not lost successive games in this year’s postseason. They are 15-3 in four series.

Darcy Kuemper shakes off early goal, delivers in clutch moments for Colorado Avalanche in Game 4

It wasn’t certain that Kadri — who was slammed into the wall in the series with the Oilers, suffered a broken thumb on his business hand, underwent surgery and had missed every game since — hadn’t even traveled to Tampa with the Avalanche and was uncertain against Wednesday night.

But he was on the ice early and often and had the Avs’ first two shots of the evening. He really wasn’t heard much from until getting the puck from Artturi Lehkonen in overtime while racing one-one-one toward the goal.

Peculiarly, goalie Darcy Kuemper, who also was uncertain for the game, started the final play — and got a rare assist.

Kadri, who already had provided a winning goal in the playoffs and a hat trick, rushed in on Andrei Vasilevskiy, formerly the best goaltender in the world, and elevated the puck onto the protector’s shoulder, and it appeared to disappear. Kadri didn’t know what happened.

The puck stuck in the top of the netting.

The reaction from the Lightning, the Avalanche and the entire crowd was delayed momentarily.

And the Avs had the triumph.

Kuemper yielded the quickest and the softest goals of the series, but made a playoff-high 36 saves and actually outdueled Vasilevskiy, who stopped 25 of 27.

The Lightning attacked the Avs’ goalie in the opening minute, setting up a cluster in front of the crease and throwing three shots. The third, by Tampa Bay center Anthony Cirelli, didn’t connect, but his stick knocked off Kuemper’s mask. As Kuemper was confused, Cirelli sent the rebound into the nets at the 38-second mark of Game 4. That was not Kuemper’s fault. His defense failed him, and the Lightning were tenacious, the Avs tentative from the first faceoff.

Nate MacKinnon had been the subject of alarm in the series because, after three spectacular series in the playoffs, he hadn’t scored in the first three games against the Lightning, who certainly had decided to surround and stuff and stifle him.

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However, 5:17 into the second period, MacKinnon tied the score on a power-play goal, with assists to Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen. MacKinnon had his 12th goal of the postseason.

With 9:18 left in the second period, Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman befuddled Kuemper with a shot that was Charmin soft.

The Avs were behind again by one at the conclusion of the period.

Yet, just under three minutes into the third period, Andrew Cogliano, who had undergone finger surgery, made it 2-2 on a ricochet, as the Avalanche’s back lines proved again to be stronger than most teams’ front lines.

That goal turned out to be the last of regulation.

Tampa Bay had fired their best shot — and shots, but the Avalanche weathered the storm and the Lightning.

Kadri was the Magician. He made the puck disappear.

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