If there's one game this season that the Boston Bruins can point to as proof of why they wanted to sign Nikita Zadorov in NHL free agency over the summer, it's Tuesday night's 3-2 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.
Zadorov was a force at both ends of the ice.
The veteran defenseman got the Bruins on the board with a goal in the first period on a blast from inside the blue line. It was just his second goal of the season and first non-empty net tally. He also led all Bruins defensemen with four shots on net, which tied a season high. The last time he landed more than two shots on net was Nov. 5.
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Zadorov also made a strong impact defensively. He played very physical, tallying four hits and clearing traffic from the front of the net. He also was effective in 2:20 of penalty kill ice time, helping Boston go 3-for-3 shorthanded.
The Russian defenseman also showed the kind of shut-down force he can be. He spent the large majority of his 5-on-5 ice time Monday night paired with Brandon Carlo, and the Bruins had a 25-12 edge in shot attempts, a 15-6 advantage in shots on net, a 9-6 lead in scoring chances and a 1-0 goal differential when that duo was on the ice.
"He was engaged in the game tonight," Bruins head coach Joe Sacco said of Zadorov in his postgame press conference. "He was physical, and he was just defending hard tonight. When he was on the ice, the opposition knew that he was playing."
It's one game, but the Bruins might have found something with the Zadorov-Carlo pairing.
Zadorov had spent only 64 minutes with Carlo at 5-on-5 before Tuesday night's game. Most of Zadorov's 5-on-5 ice time has been spent with Andrew Peeke (162:48) and Charlie McAvoy (152:38), per Natural Stat Trick. Zadorov and Carlo are both defense-first defensemen, so it wouldn't be surprising if this duo becomes a quality shutdown pairing for Boston going forward.
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Zadorov also brought a bit of an edge to the Bruins by going after Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond in the second period. The B's defenseman was penalized for slashing Raymond, and he was furious at the call. Zadorov thought Raymond embellished and called him out after the game.
"I don’t like when the guy’s shaking his hand," Zadorov told reporters. "I barely touched his hand, so I think that’s got to get out of the league. It’s a man’s league. We all get slashed. We’re all in pain. But you don’t go like this and show the referee that you get slashed. So I think it’s just a little bit disrespectful, so I went after him.”
Zadorov spent six minutes in the penalty box against the Red Wings. Not all penalties are bad, but the fact that he leads all defensemen in the league with 22 minor penalties taken is not great.
However, Monday's game was a great example of how Zadorov can take a few penalties and still have a hugely positive impact on the outcome. Sometimes a team needs a player to drag the group into the fight, especially when the game starts out without much energy. Zadorov is that kind of player with his physicality and passion.
The Bruins are at their best when they're engaged and playing with purpose. Zadorov, as a punishing defenseman who plays 20-plus minutes per game, is one of the players who can lead that charge on a consistent basis.