Nazem Kadri isn’t going to change his game just because the Boston Bruins are in town

He has been suspended five times for illegal hits in his NHL career, making him one of the league’s most notorious repeat offenders. He has been fined and/or suspended by the league and his own team for incidents such as being late to practice, making a throat slash gesture to another player and for embellishment.

The last two times he has received multiple-game suspensions, they came in the first round of the playoffs, as a Toronto Maple Leaf, against the Boston Bruins. One, for three games in 2018, for a boarding hit on Boston’s Tommy Wingels, and another for what proved to be five full games, plus the remainder of a sixth, for a Game 2 cross-check to the head of Boston’s Jake DeBrusk.

Should the Colorado Avalanche give Kadri a night off, with the Bruins in town Thursday night? Should Kadri change his game if he does play because, well, the Bruins are in town?

The answers are: No, and not a chance.

In an exclusive interview with Colorado Hockey Now Wednesday, Kadri said he doesn’t view this game differently than any other in his nine-year career. Plenty of people have cracked jokes that maybe Kadri’s season should include 80 games, but take those two games against the Bruins off.