TAMPA — Nazem Kadri is used to helping his linemates be at their best.
He's been doing it all season long.
Under Kadri’s guidance, Connor Zary has transformed from an early-season call-up to an everyday NHL threat.
This week, Kadri has been entrusted with a new task - skating alongside Andrei Kuzmenko - with Zary sidelined with a slight knock with the Flames ready to start a three-game road swing Thursday night against the Lightning.
It’s a fascinating duo: Kuzmenko the pure sniper, Kadri the bullish centreman who’s proven he can both light the lamp and cause opponents fits away from the puck.
In their debut as a partnership, Kuzmenko scored a pair of goals Monday night against Seattle, with Kadri adding to his team-leading assist total on both tallies.
The pair skated again together at practice in Tampa Wednesday afternoon.
“I think it always takes a little bit of an adjustment period to get to know your linemates, and what they like to do to create some chemistry,” said Kadri. "(Kuzmenko’s) a guy that can shoot the puck, he likes getting open and he likes making plays.
“It’s working out pretty well so far.”
Unlike Zary, or Martin Pospisil, Kuzmenko has landed on Kadri’s line with a bit of NHL pedigree on his C.V.
A 39-goal man with the Canucks last year, the 28-year-old Russian has close to 450 NHL and KHL games under his belt.
But according to Kadri, the ‘get-to-know-ya’ phase remains the same.
“It’s an adjustment period anytime, it doesn’t matter if it’s a vet, young guy, you’ve got to kind of mesh as a line and understand each other’s tendencies,” he explained. “Things happen fast out there, it needs to be more reactive and less, really, over-analyzing the game.”
It’s that ability to mesh, and Kadri’s ability to bring out the very best in his linemates this season, that has Flames head coach Ryan Huska intrigued.
“Naz has a way about him that he knows when to pat a guy on the back, and he knows when to bark,” Huska said Wednesday. “Last game was a good example of it, there was a bit of both from him towards his linemates last game, so he takes charge of his line; Naz is competitive all over the ice for us right now, that’s something that will rub off on Kuzy.
“In order for Kuzy to be his best, he needs to have the puck; if you want to have the puck, you have to be really competitive and that’s the way Naz is.”
There are no easy nights in the NHL, but the week ahead presents a challenge not dis-similar to the four-game trip Calgary battled through, collecting six of eight points on the Eastern Seaboard in early February.
Each of the Flames’ opponents this week are in a playoff berth, beginning Thursday night at Amalie Arena.
But Kadri’s ready to dive in with both skates.
"I just think it brings the best out of us, obviously we’ve got to be ready,” he said. “We understand they’re good teams, we’ve got to show up, be prepared to play in some tough buildings.
“We’ve had some success on the road this year against good teams, so this should be no different.”
