Nikita Zadorov Stands Up For Bruins Teammate By Throttling Stars Captain

Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov took exception to the hit Stars forward Jamie Benn laid on blueliner Brandon Carlo in the opening frame of the Boston-Dallas game on Thursday night.

Benn sent Carlo head-first into the boards, and Zadorov wasted no time dropping the gloves in his teammate’s defense.

After Benn missed landing a few with his left hand, Zadorov completely unleashed on the Dallas captain and won the battle, as Carlo was crumpled on the ice on all fours while the trainer attended to him.

Dallas held a 2-0 lead when Benn was originally assessed a five-minute major for boarding. After reviewing the call, the referees knocked the infraction down to a two-minute minor. Both Zadorov and Benn were assessed five for fighting.

The Bruins cut the lead in half when Charlie Coyle tipped in a Trent Frederic shot with 2:22 remaining in the opening frame.

Carlo returned for the start of the second period. However, all eyes will be on Carlo, who has suffered from six concussions across his nine years with the Bruins. The Black and Gold are already down two defensemen with Hampus Lindholm and Andrew Peeke listed as week-to-week with their respective injuries.