The Boston Bruins snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday, but they needed overtime to get it done as they edged the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 on an Elias Lindholm goal at 2:32 of the extra period.
But for one Bruins player, the game was a costly one, as the NHL announced on Sunday morning.
Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable punishment under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, for roughing Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic in Saturday’s clash at TD Garden.
The fine is Zadorov’s fourth at the $5,000 maximum since May 2024, and it comes two weeks after Bruins coach Marco Sturm made him a healthy scratch over a lack of discipline.
The trouble started late in the second period, when Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt and Vlasic tangled behind the play. Vlasic dropped the gloves with Mittelstadt, and a scrum involving both teams followed.
Zadorov then dragged Vlasic out of the pile and punched him in the face while Vlasic was down on the ice.
The Bruins enforcer drew a four-minute double minor and a 10-minute misconduct for roughing. Vlasic and Mittelstadt drew roughing penalties as well. Chicago did not receive a power play.
The league’s Sunday announcement named only Zadorov. Officials had already penalized Vlasic and Mittelstadt on the ice, and the NHL has announced no discipline for any other player as of Sunday.
Zadorov’s Disciplinary History and Penalty Minutes
Zadorov’s lone suspension came in February 2024 with the Vancouver Canucks, when the NHL suspended him two games for an illegal check to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond. Zadorov had no prior fines or suspensions at that point.
Three months later, the NHL fined him $5,000, the maximum, for cross-checking Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid in Game 3 of the second round of the playoffs.
On Nov. 30, 2024, the league fined him $5,000 again, this time for poking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin with his stick from the Bruins bench. Malkin also was fined $5,000 for slashing Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei in response.
Last April, a Game 4 first-round play in which he cross-checked Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin brought a five-minute major, a game misconduct and a $5,000 fine.
“Listen, we are Boston Bruins and we play that brand of hockey,” Zadorov said, according to The Boston Globe. He made the comment after Sturm scratched him for the Oct. 17 game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Zadorov leads the NHL in penalty minutes again this season. He has 47 penalty minutes through 14 games, ahead of Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins with 42 and Calgary Flames forward Adam Klapka with 37.
He topped the league with 152 penalty minutes last season, 12 more than teammate Mark Kastelic, and with 145 penalty minutes in 2024-25. He entered this season eighth among active players in penalty minutes, with 998 in his career.
Boston Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov Career, Signing and Contract
Zadorov was born in Moscow, Russia, on April 16, 1995, and is a 6-foot-7 left-shot defenseman. Buffalo selected him 16th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft.
He later played for Colorado, Chicago and Calgary. Calgary traded him to Vancouver on Nov. 30, 2023, for a 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick.
The Bruins landed the top-four defenseman on Day 1 of free agency on July 1, 2024, after Zadorov posted 20 points and 125 penalty minutes in 75 games between Calgary and Vancouver in 2023-24.
“I want [to have] my best chance to win a championship,” Zadorov said after signing with Boston.
Zadorov signed a six-year, $30 million contract with a $5 million average annual value that runs through 2029-30, when he will be a 35-year-old unrestricted free agent.
This season, the third of the Boston deal, Zadorov earns $5.5 million, including a $4.5 million base salary and a $1 million signing bonus. His total pay stays at $5.5 million in 2027-28, then falls to $4.25 million in 2028-29 and $3.6 million in 2029-30.
NHL Hits Bruins Enforcer With Maximum Fine After Blackhawks Game