NHL News: Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov breaks silence after Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews leaves game following hit

The Toronto Maple Leafs were hit with a double setback during Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Bruins, as captain Auston Matthews, who has 14 points in 16 games this NHL season, including 9 goals and 5 assists, left the ice following a hit from Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov.

Matthews exited during a TV timeout in the second period while Toronto was down 4-1, leaving the team to evaluate. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz was also removed from the game, leaving Dennis Hildeby to finish in net.

Toronto’s official PR account confirmed that both Matthews and Stolarz were dealing with upper-body injuries, but no further details were immediately available.

“This marks the second time a Maple Leafs player has left the game due to a Zadorov hit,” noted The Hockey News reporter David Alter. “Forward Scott Laughton also left the ice after being hit by Zadorov in Saturday’s game against Boston.”

Zadorov addresses the hit on Matthews

NHL veteran Nikita Zadorov offered his perspective on the hit, describing it as part of a routine play rather than an intentional attempt to injure the Maple Leafs captain.

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“I didn’t really hit him,” Zadorov said, according to NHL.com. “I hit him with my right shoulder, and 99 percent of my hits in the NHL are with my right shoulder. I’m not sure what hit he got hurt on. Like, when he came after me again, I counter-hit him, or maybe when I cleared the puck I hit him with the puck, so we’re not going to speculate on that.

He added: “It was just routine. I didn’t really want to hit him. I wanted to prevent him from taking the middle and I just stood there. You can see on the video I hit him with my chest. There was no intention to hurt him. I just play hard against top players on the other team. That’s my job.”

Matthews’ status and implications

The Maple Leafs will continue evaluating Matthews’ condition, and it remains unclear if he will miss any extended time. Losing the team captain could significantly affect Toronto’s lineup, especially given the ongoing challenges in balancing their roster after recent injuries.