Nazem Kadri is having a great season. He lit it up during the regular season, scoring 28 goals and 59 assists (for 87 points) in 71 games. During the postseason, he’s added seven goals and eight assists (for 15 points) in 14 games. And he would have scored more if he hadn’t had a thumb injury that required surgery in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
Even after surgery, he came back for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Did he miss a beat? Not one. While it took him a bit of time to get his stick-handling back, he was all over the ice; and, in fact, he ended up scoring the game-winner (controversial as it was) just over 12 minutes into the first overtime period. As a result of his goal, he and his Avalanche teammates now take a commanding 3-1 series lead.