New Avalanche center Nazem Kadri, no stranger to criticism, has indirectly fanned the flames in the club’s rivalry with Calgary.
The Flames have lost five consecutive games to Colorado dating to last season, including the last four in a first-round playoff series in April in which the Western Conference regular-season champion fell to the No. 8-seeded Avs. And now Flames’ fans are upset with Kadri, Colorado’s new second-line center and power-play specialist who adds much-needed toughness to the forward corps.
Before Thursday’s season-opener for both teams at the Pepsi Center, Kadri said that he nixed an off-season trade to Calgary.