The Boston Bruins have won seven games in a row, with their last two coming against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both were 5-3 wins in a home-and-home for the Bruins. There is no doubt that the Maple Leafs are struggling to begin the season with a home-heavy schedule.
In Saturday night's victory over Toronto on the road, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov knocked out forward Scott Laughton in the second period with a heavy hit. The Maple Leafs were not happy, but it was a clean hit from Boston's big blueliner.
On Tuesday night, hours after Leafs coach Craig Berube made his feelings known about the rematch, Zadorov struck again. Midway through the second period, he hit Maple Leafs' captain Auston Matthews from behind and into the boards just outside Boston's defensive zone. Matthews got up and finished his shift, trying to get a lick in on Zadorov.
After the shift, he went to the locker room and was not seen again. He was ruled out with a lower-body injury. There was no update provided on Wednesday, but NHL insider Elliotte Friedman gave an update on Thursday morning.
Elliotte Friedman gives an Auston Matthews injury update
Toronto is hosting the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, and they will be without Matthews after Friedman posted on his X account that the injury is not considered serious, but he will miss a couple of games.
Auston Matthews injury considered not serious, but will miss a couple of games
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 13, 2025
That certainly is some good news, as Zadorov said after the game that it was a normal play, but he wasn't sure if he was hurt on the first hit or when he made a run at Zadorov later in the shift.
“It was just a normal play. I didn’t really hit him. I hit with my right shoulder,” Zadorov said. “Ninety-nine percent of my hits in the NHL are with my right shoulder.
“I’m not sure what hit he got hurt on. I’m not going to speculate on that.''
The two teams won't meet again until March, and it is anyone's guess where either team will be in the standings, but you can bet Matthews and the Maple Leafs won't forget what happened.