Oilers forward Evander Kane facing possible suspension for hit on Nazem Kadri

Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri is set to miss the rest of the Western Conference Finals series, but Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane could soon be joining him on the sidelines.

NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Kane will be having a hearing after injuring Nazem Kadri in last night’s Game 3.

Edmonton’s Evander Kane will have a hearing today for Boarding Colorado’s Nazem Kadri.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) June 5, 2022

66 seconds into the Oilers’ first home game of the series, Kane took out Kadri with a hit behind the Oilers net, and was assessed a five-minute boarding penalty on the play.

Evander Kane was given a 5-minute major for boarding on this hit on Nazem Kadri. #StanleyCup | #LetsGoOilers | #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/xRv9dN2WQs

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 5, 2022

Kadri did not return to the game, with reports of him leaving the arena in a cast on his arm.

Nazem Kadri left Rogers Place with a cast on his right arm.

— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) June 5, 2022

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said post-game he expects Kadri to miss at least the remainder of the series.

Kane himself called the hit “unfortunate”.

“I was just coming in on the backcheck, puck went wide, kind of dribbled into the corner, and I know he likes to reverse hit,” Kane said. “I was just trying to get a bump on him and that’s really all I did. Unfortunately, he went into the boards awkwardly and hurt his hand, so that was unfortunate.”

Evander Kane explains his hit on Nazem Kadri in Game 3. pic.twitter.com/9e0x5yFWdy

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 5, 2022

The Oilers are currently down 3-0 in the series, and are aiming to become just the fifth NHL team in history to successfully overcome such a deficit in a playoff series. Game 4 goes tomorrow at 5 pm PT/ 6 pm MT / 8 pm ET.