HNIC's Elliotte Friedman reports that Leafs forward Nazem Kadri will not face supplemental discipline for his hit of Ottawa Senators defenseman Cody Ceci in Toronto's 6-3 victory over Ottawa on Saturday.
The play was the turning point in the game between the two provincial rivals after Phil Kessel scored to narrow the Ottawa lead to 2-1 midway through the second. Kadri labeled the Sens blueliner behind the net and immediately fed line mate Joffrey Lupul for the tying goal just 1:38 after Kessel's goal.
A replay at full speed appears to show the Leafs forward hitting Ceci from behind and rocketing him into the boards head first, but the photo from Sportsnet's David Alter shows that the principle point of contact was on the defenseman's side, which is considered a legal hit.
Here is the Kadri hit principle point of contact. pic.twitter.com/5DCwO3W0PW
— David Alter (@DavidAlter590) February 2, 2014Toronto’s performance was eerily similar to their 6-3 victory over Florida on Thursday. The Leafs gave their opponents two-goal lead each time, with one goal courtesy of a defensive gaffe from defenseman Jake Gardiner.
In both instances, Toronto scored a pair of goals in rapid fashion in the middle frame to get back into the game and then exploded offensively in the final 20 minutes to provide the margin of victory.
Mason Raymond and James van Reimsdyk scored 31 seconds apart to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead on Thursday, while Kessel and Lupul scored 1:38 apart to tie the Senators after goals from the pugnacious Chris Neil and Colin Greening gave Ottawa an early advantage.
Toronto had goals from Nikolai Kulemin, Lupul and Tyler Bozak in the third period on Thursday, while Saturday was the Kessel show, as he added two more to complete his first hat trick of the season and assisted on Bozak’s 11th goal of the year.
Phil Kessel lengthy hot streak has catapulted the Leafs leading scorer to 4th in NHL scoring with 61 points and second only to Washington’s Alex Ovechkin with 30 goals.
With the victory, Toronto completed the sweep of a three-game home stand and have now won six straight at Air Canada Center, which started with a 3-2 shootout win over New Jersey on January 12. Special teams have played a big part during the Leafs recent success, as they scored three power play goals against the Panthers and Senators and were 10 for 10 on penalty kills during the home stand.
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The Leafs swoon in early January which fueled rumors about head coach Randy Carlyle being fired resulted in a heart-to-heart discussion between the players and GM Dave Nonis, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
Nonis reportedly took the unusual step of speaking to the players as a group during their four-game losing streak that followed the Winter Classic and conveyed the ramifications if the losing streak and lackadaisical play continued.
The Leafs GM and players both declined to confirm what was said behind closed doors, but it has had the desired affect, as the club has gone 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.
This is consistent with the Leafs GM’s comments to the media at that time, which he stated support for Carlyle and that the players needed to step up their game or changes were going to be made. Nonis’s message was apparently received loud and clear by most of the team, who may have begun to tune out the coach.
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