Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov Narrowly Avoids Brutal Injury In Loss Vs. Capitals

Everything was normal when Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov took the ice Tuesday for his first shift against the Washington Capitals.

Unfortunately for the first-year Bruin, his shift was literally cut short when he was hit awkwardly by Capitals forward Tom Wilson and went down the tunnel just 19 seconds into the game.

Zadorov returned for the final 12.1 seconds of the first period and finished the game, logging 13:38 of ice time across 20 shifts in Boston’s 3-1 loss to Washington. He revealed to reporters he had to get stitches after his ankle was cut by Wilson’s skate.

“I felt a cut right away, and I looked there, and I see it’s pretty deep,” Zadorov said, per team-provided video. “I could see it between my skate and my shinpad, and then I just sprinted to the bench. And when I figured I could put the weight on my ankle, I felt like I was fine. So, it ended up it was just the skin. I got lucky there pretty much because there’s a lot of areas where it could be worse for sure.”

With the Bruins still weeks away from getting Hampus Lindholm back, the Black and Gold couldn’t afford to have Zadorov sidelines with a major injury.

The Bruins continue their three-game road trip when Boston travels to New York to face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Puck drop for that Original Six matchup is scheduled at 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN after an hour of pregame.