All the chatter leading up to the final regular season game between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers was about Brad Marchand‘s return to TD Garden. But as the high-octane game reached its dying moments, with the Panthers trailing 3-2, the focus shifted to a scuffle on the ice involving the Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov and the Panthers’ Sam Bennett.

After an attempt to score an equalizer in the third period of the match went in vain, a frustrated Bennett nudged Zarorov with a stick, and Zadorov refused to let it go. In one instant, Zadorov was seen sending punches Bennett’s way. In the next, Bennett was down on the ice, struggling to find a window to fight back.  

After the dust (and the fists) had settled, Nikita Zadorov was asked whether the fight would give the Bruins an extra push moving forward, the defenseman said, “There’s always games inside the game, so you try to win those, obviously. Where we are in the standings, that’s not where we want to be. So, hopefully, we’re going to be higher up, and we can match up against those guys in the playoffs.” Even after the referees had pulled the fighters away, Zadorov was seen yelling at Bennett, furious, as both of them walked down the tunnel into their respective dressing rooms.  

“There’s definitely history in these two teams. I wasn’t a part of it, but I mean, I’m just playing hard,” he added. Zadorov wasn’t a part of the Bruins, when Bennett landed a dirty hit on Brad Marchand during Game 3 of last season’s playoff series. That hit gave the Bruins captain a concussion and cost him the rest of the series.

Zadorov had no intention whatsoever of letting anything of the sort happen to him.

“I’m in front of the net. The guy cross-checks me in the face. I’ve got to step up for myself, so I think that was just the hockey moment over there. I wasn’t really thinking about sending the message or anything like that. I play hard against any player in the league, so you can call it sending the message,” he said, concluding that it is his style. 

And the wave of his energy in the fight just shocked everyone and Zadorov’s teammate also weighed in on the fight.

Nikita Zadorov’s teammate on his fight with Sam Bennett 

The Bruins’ star Mason Lohrei was stoked when he asked about Nikita Zadorov and Sam Bennett’s late fight. He said in a conversation with NESN, “I haven’t been that fired up in a long time. That was unbelievable.” The Boston Bruins No. 6 also added, “He does so much for us. I mean, right before that, he saved a goal, and we all know what happened after that. So, I love watching him play, as I’m sure all you guys do, too.” 

As far as saves are concerned, the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman saved 26 shots from the Panthers who had taken an early lead through Dmitry Kulikov‘s first goal in 46 games. In fact, the opening minutes of the third period saw the Panthers double their lead thanks to Mackie Samoskevich. It was all downhill from then as the game slipped from the Panthers’ hands in the last period, ending their six-game winning streak. To take a quick recap, David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha became the heroes of Boston’s win. 

All in all, this Panthers vs Bruins game had everything. And the funny part? Brad Marchand wasn’t even a part of it.