Avalanche have bad luck on their injuries. In the decisive phase of the season, he encounters the health problems of his players with iron regularity. The old familiar problem came up in the finals this time. Although Colorado has built a two-win lead over his fans, he travels to Tampa with an uncertain idea of the state of the second offensive formation. Nazri Kadri is close to returning, André Burakovsky, on the other hand, has not completed the previous part. Will the Lebanese injection come, will the final hero bite the pain, or will it all be different in the end?
Kadri, 31, works with an injured toe. He is experiencing a very special season in Colorado this year. In the basic part he reached 87 points, he even watched the Match of the Stars. He timed Fazon well, because he will be negotiating a new contract in a few days.
If an attacker with Lebanese roots managed to take over the Stanley Cup, he would get another crucial argument for increasing his salary. And it would also go down in the history of the NHL in an exotic way. No player of Lebanese origin has entered the finals yet.
However, Kadri’s fate is currently being decided by others. The Canadian has been missing from the Avalanche squad since the fourth duel of the conference finals against Edmonton. Now he has flown with the team to Tampa, but his start in the final series is still uncertain.
“We hope to see him on the ice again. So far, I can’t say whether it will be in matches number three or four, “said the team coach from under the Rocky Mountains, Jared Bednar, on Sunday.
In the previous round, Kadri was eliminated by the indiscriminate impact of Oilers forward Evander Kane, who was injured in Toronto’s long-standing support during the collision. Kadri immediately headed for surgery and began convalescence. She has reached the stage where the former seventh man of the draft is able to function in training, but the doctors have not yet let him into the match.
On the other hand, Avalanche will not be accompanied on the Florida peninsula by the current final star André Burakovsky. However, the native Austrian, who performs under the Swedish flag on international companies, suffered injuries in the previous match, when he helped to demolish Lightning in a ratio of 7: 0 with goals and assistance. He cut the first game again with a quick end in overtime. The paradox is that until then he scored only once in 10 playoff matches.
A hard shot by quarterback Victor Hedman, which Burakovsky caught in his hand, came out of the game. He did not board his teammates, but coach Bednar expects the Swedish striker to join the team on Monday.
Colorado still has to deal with possible squadrons in its attacks. It was Burakovsky who stood up for Kadri in the second, very striking line. If both shooters are missing, Nicolas Aube-Kubel will probably get a chance. The 26-year-old winger has started thirteen times in this year’s playoffs, but because his production remains at zero, he took on the role of a healthy substitute in the last race.
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