Nazem Kadri says racist comments, death threats fueled his Game 4 hat trick
Nazem Kadri had some powerful words following his phenomenal Game 4 performance in front of a hostile St. Louis crowd.
"For those that hate, that was for them."
In the face of death threats and racist comments made via social media towards him and his family after his run-in with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington over the weekend, Kadri netted a career-defining hat trick in the game of his life, helping the Avalanche push the Blues to the brink of elimination on Monday night as Colorado sits one game away from the Western Conference Final.
Nazem Kadri does the “I can’t hear you” celebration to the Blues crowd after scoring #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/oamxW7eL7m
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) May 24, 2022
The 31-year-old’s play on the ice, while monumental to his team’s dominant 6-3 win, was secondary to the story off the ice and the vitriol he faced from Blues fans the past few days.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been dealing with that for a long time,” Kadri told the NHL on TNT panel on Sunday. “It’s sad to say, but that’s just the fact of the matter.”
The horrifying messages and threats extended beyond Kadri himself, and were also directed at his family — as shared by his wife on Instagram. Be warned, many of those comments are very tough to read.
The verbal abuse, stemming from Kadri incidentally colliding with Binnington in Game 3 — a play which he was not even penalized for — was no doubt exacerbated when Binnington threw a water bottle at Kadri during a post-game interview that night.
Despite the horrible messages, Kadri shared after the game with the Hockey Night in Canada panel that he used the attacks as motivation for his Game 4 outburst.
Nazem Kadri tells Sportsnet he used death threats/racial threats as motivation for Game 4 performance.
"Thank the St. Louis fans for that one" pic.twitter.com/FfVZTlpEvy— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) May 24, 2022
As for his thoughts on Craig Berube’s “no comment” on the racist messages from Blue fans, Kadri made his disappointment with the St. Louis head coach coach very clear.
"I guess I needed some fuel. I was pretty upset from the last couple days." Kadri said after the game.
"Starting with their head coach, he made some comments I wasn't a fan of. I guess he's never heard of bulletin board material."
The Avalanche will have the chance to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in over two decades on home ice on Wednesday, where Kadri will also have the chance to secure his first ever berth in a Conference Final in front of a supportive Colorado crowd.
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