Nikita Zadorov wasn’t happy about missing a game, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe.

The 31-year-old defenseman in the Bruins’ 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks committed a double minor penalty against forward Frank Vatrano, which became his second and third penalties of the night amid the poorest of games from him in 2026-27. Marco Sturm scratched him as a result of that in the Bruins 4-1 win against the Kings. But Zadorov doubled down on his style of play;

“Listen, we are Boston Bruins, and we play that brand of hockey, and I’m fitting this brand really well. And I believe it fits me pretty well, as well,” said the 6-foot-7-inch, 244-pound Zadorov. “And I’ve been playing my whole life that way. I’m a big, physical D. I’m an emotional person on and off the ice, and I’m emotionally invested on and off the ice. So, when I go out there, I will die for any of my teammates and this logo that’s on my chest. That’s what I play for, I play for the pride. So, when I go out there, I’ll leave everything on the ice.”

Zadorov has led the team and furthermore, the NHL in penalties in minutes each of the last two seasons. Those calls against Anaheim got him to 29 PIM’s, also team-leading this year. Boston, since acquiring him, has seen only three games without his presence on the ice, dating back to the start of the 2024-25 season; they are a +20 goal differential with him on the ice in that span.

Additional Bruins Notes:

Pavel Zacha, who missed that Kings game as well, exiting the game against Anaheim due to an undisclosed injury, is a game-time decision against the Dallas Stars. Zacha is off to a good start to his 2026-27 campaign with five points through eight games thus far and currently projects to be one of the unrestricted top free agent centers next summer if he doesn’t re-sign in Boston. The Bruins, in his absence, moved Fraser Minten and Matthew Poitras to the first and second lines while having Sean Kuraly fill in as the 4C below Elias Lindholm.
Michael Eyssimont and Henri Jokiharju both declined to comment on whether they requested a trade out of the Bruins organization, according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. As previously reported by Elliotte Friedman on his written 32 Thoughts; the Bruins have been shopping a new home for the 27-year-old Jokiharju, who is entering the second season of a three-year, $3MM AAV contract and the former first-round pick can certainly provide depth offense from the blue line. Eyssimont is making a case that he doesn’t belong in the AHL ranks, having registered two hattricks, seven goals total for eight points in just four AHL games.